Adventures in Kalos
by DictumYeti
Summary: Ash Ketchum has been traveling in the Pokémon world for 7 years in many different regions. Now, he sets eyes on the Kalos Region, where he will meet new friends, and reunite with one from his childhood 8 years ago. Will Ash finally win a Pokémon League? (Contains Amourshipping, smarter and older Ash, lightly follows the anime.)
1. Chapter 1: Arrival in Lumiose

**Welcome everyone to the first chapter of Adventures in Kalos!**

**I will try to make this different from the anime for the most part, but it'll follow it loosely for the first part. Once again I'm sorry, but that's how it is.**

**Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Pokemon, so don't sue me...please**

* * *

><p>"Attention passengers, we are approaching our destination. Please fasten all seatbelts for the final descent into Lumiose City"<p>

The announcement over the plane's intercom was enough to rouse Ash from his sleep. He took off his cap and ran his hand through his unkempt, jet-black hair. He looked down to see his lifelong partner and best friend resting on his lap. The electric mouse opened its eyes and looked up at its friend, before cooing, "Pikachu". Ash smiled at the mouse and asked, "Well Pikachu, are you ready for another journey to begin here in the Kalos region?" Ash received an affirmative nod from Pikachu before gently itching under its chin, Pikachu's favorite spot. The duo looked to the young woman seated next to them, Alexa. She was a native of the Kalos region and a skilled reporter as well, and she gave the Helioptile wrapped around her neck a small pat on the head before saying to Ash, "We've almost finished our journey together Ash, but I can expect a great chapter in your life is about to begin."

Ash looked at Alexa and said, "It sure is, another new region and a new league for me to face, I'm really excited for what's about to come." He looked out of the window and out to the world as the sun lethargically made its way up over the East and shed light on the land below. Ash looked out at the beauty and said, to nobody in particular, "It's time for me to go out there and come one step closer to achieving my dream."

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, in the small Kalosian town of Vaniville, there was one person still dreaming. Serena Gabena grasped a hold of her pillow, hugging it close to her body as she slept. Her long, golden hair was strewn across her back, covering her body in a blanket of honey locks. She rolled over and pulled her sheets up over her head. A small red and grey bird, came into her room through the slightly cracked doorway, and landed on her sleeping head. It looked down and gave a hard peck on the top of Serena's head. Her shill screams could be heard downstairs by her mother, Grace, who was busy in the kitchen, whipping up a small breakfast for her daughter, "I told her that I would send Fletchling up there if she didn't get up to practice racing with Rhyhorn. I guess sometimes she just never learns."<p>

Serena looked up angrily at Fletchling before yelling, "Why do you always have to wake me up like that, can't you just give me a light tap or something?!" She received an inquisitive glance from the Fletchling before it flew back and landed on the table a few feet away from Serena. Serena got up slowly and lunged at the bird, missing it entirely and falling face first onto the tabletop. She could hear Grace call from downstairs, "What's all the commotion? Stop trying to strangle Fletchling and get ready for Rhyhorn race practice. I even made you breakfast."

"Okay, I'm coming."

She looked at the Fletchling and threatened while rubbing her nose, "Don't think that I'm done with you though."

* * *

><p>Ash stepped out of the plane and down the steps that protruded from the aircraft. He took a deep breath as Pikachu climbed up onto his shoulder. "You smell that buddy? That's the smell of victory!"<p>

"Actually Ash, that's the smell of jet fuel, but I can see where you're mistaken."

Ash looked back to see Alexa coming down from the plane. He looked at her and asked, "So Alexa, where are you headed to from here?"

"I'm actually headed to Santalune City to visit my sister, Viola. I'll probably be seeing you there soon, considering she is the gym leader there."

"That will be my next stop! I'm first gonna look around a bit here in Lumiose City, just to see if I can find any great things for Pikachu and I to do for our first day here in Kalos."

"Well if you need some suggestions I have a couple that might interest you. Professor Sycamore has his research lab here in town, you could go and talk to him. There's also a gym in the Prism tower. I've never been there, but I've heard the gym leader is a strong, electric type trainer."

"You had me sold at Pokémon gym! So, I guess this is where we go our separate ways?"

"For now at least. I'll see you in Santalune City."

They and their Pokémon exchanged a friendly handshake and walked off in different directions. Ash was a little sad to see Alexa leave, it seems that after 7 years on the road he still couldn't really take a goodbye, but at least he had Pikachu with him. Ash looked at Pikachu and said, "Well buddy, are you ready to challenge our first gym leader in Kalos?" The Pokémon looked at him and replied in affirmation. Ash shouted, "Well then, let's get a move on!" as he ran on towards Prism Tower.

* * *

><p>Serena was now clad in a pink riding jumpsuit and her long golden hair was tied back so as not to get into her face while she was riding Rhyhorn. She quickly finished the breakfast that her mother had made and stepped out the back door. Her mother was waiting by a clearing with her Rhyhorn all saddled and ready for a day of grueling, riding practice. "Took you long enough Serena, now come on and get onto Rhyhorn, we've got some work to do to make you a strong Rhyhorn racer." Serena looked at her mother and gave a strong sigh. Yeah, because I really want to be a Rhyhorn racer like you Mom, she thought. Serena stepped over to Rhyhorn and patted it on its horn. "Alright, Rhyhorn, are you ready?" she asked, all she received was a single gruff grunt from the Rhyhorn. "Okay… I'll take that as a yes." Her mother's Rhyhorn was not exactly the type that allowed anyone but Grace to ride it, but after Grace gave up professional racing to become a coach, Grace decided that Serena could learn to ride the best of the best.<p>

Serena stepped up and mounted the Spikes Pokémon. As she took the reins she felt a sharp tug from Rhyhorn, and she knew she was in trouble. "Oh boy, Rhyhorn please don't do this again!" The Rhyhorn began to buck and jump in an attempt to get Serena off of its back. Grace looked on and shouted with vigor, "Don't worry Serena! You have to show your power, you have to be strong in your conviction. Look forward with your mouth closed! Be one with Rhyhorn!" As she said this, Rhyhorn managed to buck off Serena, sending her face forward into the dirt. Grace gave a slight sigh before saying, "Or not…" Serena crawled forward in front of her mother and said softly, "Mom… I really hate this."

* * *

><p>Ash rounded the corner, thinking about battle strategies he could use against the gym leader, and what Pokémon they would use. As he was thinking, he nearly ran into a blond, teenaged boy in a blue electrical jumpsuit and glasses and a young, blonde girl walking together along the street. "Oops I'm sorry, I must have been too busy thinking about my strategy for my upcoming gym battle." Ash said to the two of them. The boy spoke first, "Heh, it's quite alright, but I don't think you'll have to worry about the gym battle anytime soon."<p>

"Why is that?"

"Well you see, the gym is kinda closed right now due to construction. I'm sorry about that."

"Dang, I was looking forward to challenging the gym leader. Oh well, I guess I could find something else to do here in the meantime."

"Hey, I know, my sister Bonnie and I could show you around town! I'm Clemont by the way!"

Ash looked at Clemont, "You really mean that? I'd really like it if you would! My name is Ash Ketchum!" Neither of the two young men had been paying attention to Clemont's younger sister, as Bonnie was staring intently at Pikachu. She yelled ecstatically to Ash, "I've never seen a Pikachu before Ash, can I please hug it?"

"Um sure, if that's alright with Pikachu."

"Yay!"

Bonnie grabbed Pikachu and gave it a tight squeeze, which prompted an unexpected electric shock from Pikachu. "Whoops, I think you hugged Pikachu a little too tight." Ash said to the little girl as she released Pikachu. "Yeah, but it's so cute, I just love cute Pokémon. Do you have any other Pokémon with you Ash?"

"Not with me, I usually go to a new region with just Pikachu. It's mostly to make a ton of new friends on our journey."

"Aww. Well at least I got to see Pikachu!"

Clemont looked at Ash and said, "Bonnie and I were going to talk to Professor Sycamore real quick, would you like to join us?"

"Sure, I actually wanted to go to his research lab, I'm always interested in the research these Pokémon professors are doing."

Bonnie grabbed Ash's hand and said with a huge smile, "Then let's go! I heard the professor has all sorts of awesome Pokémon living at the lab! I just can't wait to be a trainer so I can have a Pokémon of my own!" Ash just gave a smile to Bonnie as the three humans and Pikachu began to make their way to the laboratory.

The Pokémon lab was a very large building with a giant glass dome on one side. Its position in the city meant that the Pokémon that lived there did not have a wide-open area to play, so that glass dome acted as a small preserve, to allow them to get sunshine and play during the day. Ash opened the huge doors into a foyer filled with bookshelves overflowing with research papers and books. "Hello? Is anyone there?" Ash yelled out into the empty room. A taller man with flowing dark brown hair poked his head out from the second floor and said, "Welcome to the Lumiose Pokémon Lab! I'm Professor Sycamore. I've met Bonnie and Clemont, but I've never seen you before. Are you new to Lumiose?"

"I am, my name is Ash Ketchum. I actually am originally from Pallet Town in Kanto, but I'm here to take part in the Kalos League."

"Well let me welcome you to Kalos. Since you're from Pallet, I'm sure you've heard of Professor Oak."

"Yeah, he was actually the one to give me this little guy right here as my first Pokémon."

"Well aren't you lucky. Not many get to meet the great Samuel Oak."

Professor Sycamore walked down the stairs and shook Ash's hand. He then turned to Clemont and asked, "So, what brings you here Clemont. I heard about the shutdown of the gym, hopefully the construction will end sooner rather than later."

"That's actually why I'm here, I would like you to take care of my Heliolisk and Magneton. It's hard when they don't have the gym to live in, I don't have enough room at home to let them stretch their legs, or magnets as it may be."

"Well I will take them for you, they will be great here."

"Thanks very much Professor."

Ash looked at Clemont and said, "So you're the gym leader of this city, Clemont."

"Indeed I am, though I would much rather spend my time working on my inventions, I love to make machines that help Pokémon and people alike."

"So what are you gonna do until the gym is fixed?"

"Well, it only should be a couple days, it'll give me a good amount of time to work on my projects at home."

Clemont then turned to Sycamore and handed him two Poké balls. Ash looked at Sycamore and asked, "If you don't mind me asking Professor, what do you research here?" Sycamore looked at Ash and said, "C'mon, I'll show you."

They walked along the hallway until they reached a room with a group of lab workers putting sensors onto a large blue, dragon-like Pokémon, a Garchomp. This Garchomp was a bit smaller than the one Cynthia had, but by no stretch of the imagination was any Garchomp a pushover in strength and speed. The Garchomp turned to see the incoming visitors and gave a wide smile and motioned the group to join it. Sycamore turned around to Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie and said, "Here is the heart of my work, I study Pokémon Mega Evolution."

Ash was the first to speak up, "Mega Evolution, what is that?" Sycamore walked up to the Garchomp and patted its head while saying, "Well we have received information that many Pokémon have the ability to evolve past their final evolutionary stage through their bond with a human partner, though this evolution is a momentary thing and the Pokémon reverts back to their old state after they are done being used."

"Wow, that sounds so amazing! How does it work?"

"Well, we are almost certain that it requires a strong bond between a certain Pokémon and his partner, as well as two stones, one 'Key Stone' held by the human and one evolution stone held by the Pokémon. We have had reports of only a few, fully-evolved Pokémon being able to do this, namely Charizard, Blastoise, Venusaur, Lucario, Absol, Gardevoir, Abomasnow, and of course Garchomp amongst many others."

"Wow, so my Charizard might be able to Mega Evolve."

"With the right stones, yes."

Ash slowly stepped up to Garchomp "So, you and the Professor have known each other for a while now."

"Gar."

"You're so strong, but you don't look like you would hurt a fly."

As Ash slowly pets Garchomp, he thinks about the Pokémon that he would be able to Mega Evolve that lived back at Professor Oak's ranch. It was at that moment when he got an idea. "Hey, Professor, do you have a phone I could use, I need to speak to Professor Oak."

"Yeah, sure. The phone is down the hall on the right."

"Thanks! I won't be long!"

Sycamore looked at Clemont and Bonnie as Ash ran down the hallway, "Well, until then would you guys like to go to the preserve? We have some new Pokémon living there." Bonnie was the first to speak up, "Really? I would love to see them Professor! Can we go Clemont?" Clemont sheepishly grinned as Bonnie tugged on his blue jumpsuit, "Sure, I would like to see the Pokémon that will be playing with my Heliolisk and Magneton while the gym is under construction."

Bonnie tugged Clemont slowly along to the glass preservation in the lab. Inside of the glass dome was a large clear pond, surrounded by small trees and playground equipment. Dozens of Pokémon were playing or lounging around everywhere in the preserve. Bonnie watched as a small group of Pichu ran around her legs while a Raichu, their mother, gave chase. "Wow, a Raichu and its family! That's so cool!" Bonnie began to chase around the family of electric mouse Pokémon. Sycamore took out Clemont's Poké balls and released the two Pokémon in a stream of white light. Clemont looked at the two electric types before him and said, "You two are gonna live here for a little bit, so get yourself acquainted with all of the others!" The two Pokémon nodded in response and ran off to find some new friends in the preserve. "They'll be fine here Clemont, they can stay as long as they like!"

"Thanks Professor, this really means a lot to me."

As they stood there, admiring all of the different types of Pokémon living together, Ash ran into the preserve and said, "Okay I'm back!" Bonnie ran up to the young man, covered with Pichu hanging on her neck and shoulders, and said, "What did you talk to Professor Oak about, Ash?" He gave a smirk and stated, "Let me show you!" He pulled out a Poké ball and released a small, blue dragon Pokémon, his Gible that he caught in Sinnoh. "Wow, I didn't know that you had a Gible, Ash! It's so cute." Bonnie rushed up to the small Land Shark Pokémon, which gave her a curious glance before launching itself up and latching onto her head. Bonnie shrieked and ran around with the dragon/ground type still gripping its jaws on her head. "It seems Gible likes you, Bonnie! It's always got a weird way of showing its affection." Ash said while he tried to stifle a laugh. Bonnie managed to pull off the Gible before saying, "I guess love can hurt!" and gave it a tight hug, "You're so cute, Gible!"

Ash turned to Sycamore and Clemont and said, "Yeah, when I heard about Mega Evolution I wanted to see if I could do it myself. Gible and I are close, but we can and will get closer, and when it feels ready enough to evolve, then we can see about finding those stones." Sycamore looked at Ash and said, "Well, I guess you're helping me on my research then. Speaking of research, I should get back to Garchomp, would you like to join me for my next experiment?"

"We sure would, Professor! Clemont, Bonnie c'mon."

Clemont looked at Ash and said, "We'll be there in a sec, Bonnie seems to be having too much fun with those Pichu." Ash looked down at Gible and said, "Alright Gible, let's go see what you and I can learn about Mega Evolution." The Pokémon jumped onto Ash's head, jaws first, before being sucked back into the Poké ball as Ash, Pikachu, and Sycamore left the preserve to work on the Professor's research. They reached the lab to see that the lab staff was larger than it had been before. There were 3 newcomers, one taller male, a woman, and a short, stout man. Sycamore spoke to one of the assistants, "Who are these three? I've never seen them before."

"They said that they are some Mega Evolution researchers from Kanto, they came earlier than we anticipated."

"Well this is quite a bit unexpected, I didn't think the researchers from Saffron to be here for another week. Well, they do have good timing, let's get this experiment started."

The researchers brought out two stones, one was larger and blue with red streaks, and the other was a smaller, rainbow-colored one. Both had identical helix patterns within the stone themselves. Ash looked at the two stones and said, "Professor, are these what I think they are?"

"Yes, this is a Key Stone and Garchomp's evolution stone, a Garchompite."

"Wow, how did you get these?"

"I have friends in places. Where I got them is not the point, what matters is what happens here and now. This is a real big step for my research."

Sycamore gave the larger blue stone to Garchomp and took the smaller one in his own hand. He looked at Garchomp and said, "Are you ready, my friend? Today is a great day for science, and the future of humans and Pokémon alike."

Sycamore raised the Key Stone up high and shouted out, "Garchomp, it's time to Mega Evolve!"

A bright white light began to envelop Garchomp, the stone in its hand vanished. The Pokémon grew taller, its back fin grew more pronounced as did its claws. It's jaw grew more pronounced, and it opened its mouth as the light burst, leaving a larger, stronger Garchomp than any Ash had ever seen. The Pokémon roared mightily, as it stepped forward and looked at Ash and Sycamore. The three researchers from Kanto smirked, as the woman in the three said, "Now our plan has begun." They threw off their lab coats to reveal an outfit with a large red "R" on the front. The smaller of the three revealed itself to be a cream colored cat with a golden, oval-shaped coin on its forehead. Ash saw the three and yelled out with a snarl, "Team Rocket! How did I know that you would follow me to the Kalos Region?"

"Well, you should always be prepared for trouble."

"Make that double."

"To protect the world from devastation."

"To unite all peoples within our nation."

"To denounce the evils of truth and love."

"To extend our reach to the stars above."

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight."

"Meowth, that's right."

James took off the wig to reveal his blue hair said, "Relax, we're not here for Pikachu at the moment, we're here for this Garchomp." He threw a small device that wrapped itself around the Garchomp's neck. The device tightened on Garchomp's neck and started to electrocute the Pokemon. Jesse spoke up, "This mind control device will allow us to use Garchomp as our own, and then all will fear Team Rocket." However, Meowth looked at the Garchomp, who was getting angered by the collar rather than being controlled by it. "Um… Jesse? James? I think that the collar isn't working, and that Garchomp looks to be rather angry at the moment."

Just as Meowth spoke, the Garchomp launched a massive beam of energy from its mouth at the three Rocket members. The blast was enough to launch the trio through the roof and far away from the Pokémon lab with their final cry of "Team Rocket's blasting off again!"

Clemont and Bonnie ran into the lab right as the Rockets "left". "What happened?!" Clemont shouted. Sycamore looked at him and said, "Three thieves were planning to steal Garchomp from us, but they underestimated the power of a Mega Garchomp." They all smiled at the Garchomp, but the look they received was not so compassionate. The Garchomp stared angrily at the group and roared. Sycamore shouted, "No! Garchomp is in serious pain from the collar, and it can't control itself! Everyone get down!" Garchomp roared again and shot another beam of energy that destroyed all of the lab equipment and opened a large hole in the wall, leading outside to the street. Garchomp used this opportunity to charge through the hole and fly out into the waning day. Ash ran after it and yelled, "We have to stop it, Garchomp is in way too much pain to know what its doing!" Bonnie ran after Ash and said, "C'mon Clemont, we have to help Ash!" Clemont slowly ran after them "I'm coming, but don't wait up on me!"

Garchomp used the wind currents in the city to fly towards Prism tower. It lost all control of its own body as pain surged through it. It fired another Hyper Beam at the ground, and wrecked the streets below it. The wind began to blow harder, and Garchomp couldn't maintain control and crashed into Prism Tower. The sun was beginning to set on the western horizon, and the lights in the city slowly flickered on. A single helicopter loomed above Prism tower, with a small camera crew filming the rampage of the Mega Evolved Garchomp.

* * *

><p>Serena was busy dusting herself off from today's practice. Her mother made her work with Rhyhorn all day, and she was covered with bruises and scrapes from the countless times that she had been bucked off. She was busy nursing her wounds with a wet cloth as her mother called from downstairs, "Serena come down here, you have to see what's happening in Lumiose City!" Serena walked downstairs and said, "Well, you have to see what happened to my face. I look like a Skitty's scratch post right now!" Her mother slowly looked away, slightly embarrassed. She regained her composure before saying, "Look though, a weird looking Garchomp has gone on a rampage in Lumiose City. It's stopped moving at the mid section of Prism Tower."<p>

"Wow, I hope everyone is alright. Someone has to stop that Garchomp."

* * *

><p>"I have to stop that Garchomp!" Ash cried as he reached Prism Tower. He saw Garchomp about halfway up the tower launching Hyper Beams around the city. Ash looked around to find a way that he could get up to stop it. Pikachu pointed towards the scaffolding that wrapped around the first ten floors of the tower. "Great thinking Pikachu, we can climb up that scaffold, but how will we get higher than that?" Pikachu looked around and saw an external ladder that scaled most of the building. "That's the way, let's go Pikachu!"<p>

They were a couple floors up the scaffolding when Clemont and Bonnie reached the tower. "Look Clemont, Ash is climbing up the tower to go save Garchomp, I can't believe how brave he is when it comes to helping a Pokémon!"

Clemont watched as Ash scaled the walls of Prism Tower. He sure did have a lot to learn from this trainer who would risk life and limb to help someone in need. Clemont would show that he was no different, that he could be just as brave. He spoke up,"I have to get up there Bonnie! Ash needs my help!"

"What? Then I'm going with you!"

"Bonnie, I can't let you do that."

"I'm not gonna let you stop me, we're both friends with Ash here!"

Clemont gave a slight nod, and they began to climb up after Ash and Pikachu, who were already at the top of the scaffolding. As Ash began to climb up the exterior ladder, Garchomp fired a Hyper Beam that hit the planks below him. The framework began to crumble and break as it dislodged from the tower. Clemont and Bonnie saw this happen and Clemont yelled, "Bonnie, we have to get down now, the platform is coming down!" They rushed back down as fast as they could while the floor creaked and groaned. It slowly began to tip over, snapping wooden planks and bending metal, Clemont and Bonnie were out of time to escape the falling scaffolding as they reached the ground. Clemont decided that now was as good a time as any to try out his new Pokémon. He took out a Poké Ball and released a small brown colored rabbit-like Pokémon, a Bunnelby "Bunnelby we need your help, use Dig and make a hole deep enough to protect Bonnie and I!" The digging Pokémon quickly finished its duty, and Clemont and Bonnie stepped into the hole. "Wait Clemont, what if something comes down right on top of us!"

"I've got a plan, I'll use my Aipom arm to cover us with a plank! We'll be safe Bonnie, I promise!"

Clemont extended a long, mechanical arm from his backpack and grabbed one of the larger wooden boards off of the scaffolding, he set it on top of the hole they were in and held it in place with his Aipom arm. The scaffold reached a tipping point, pulling bits of concrete from Prism tower down with it. It fell with a giant crash on the street, cracking asphalt and uprooting the trees around it. Ash looked down at the destruction that Garchomp's Hyper Beam created, "I hope that Clemont and Bonnie are safe. Let's stop Garchomp, Pikachu, before it hurts somebody."

Garchomp saw the trainer reach its perch, it shot a Hyper Beam at the young man but missed due to sheer exhaustion. Garchomp doubled over and let out a pained roar before being launched upward by another gust of wind. It reached the top of Prism tower and landed on its knees, clawing at the collar in an attempt to stop the excruciating pain. Ash looked up at the Garchomp and back at Pikachu, "C'mon buddy, we have to go to the top of Prism Tower!"

* * *

><p>Serena watched as the Garchomp flew up to the top of Prism tower, she couldn't tear her eyes away from the television. She saw as a young man clad in blue and his Pikachu climbed after the Pokémon, her mother also saw the teen and asked, "I wonder who that is, could that be Garchomp's trainer?" Serena looked at the trainer and thought, <em>that guy looks so familiar, where have I seen him before<em>? She stared intently at the screen, watching the trainer climb the ladder up to the top of the tower. "I hope he doesn't get himself hurt, but I want to see him help that Garchomp."

* * *

><p>Ash once again reached Garchomp, but this time it couldn't go any higher. The Garchomp was on its knees, attempting to stand up again. Ash could see that the collar was taking its toll on the Pokémon, who was slowly wavering in and out of consciousness. Ash looked to Pikachu, "We need to hit that collar, give it your strongest Iron Tail." Garchomp looked up as Pikachu ran towards it, the mouse Pokémon's tail glowing with a white light. Garchomp once again fired a Hyper Beam in an attempt to stop the Pokémon's advance, but Pikachu was able to dodge the attack. The mouse jumped up and struggled to slam its tail down onto the collar, but Garchomp stood up and gave Pikachu a headbutt, which launched it higher up into the air. Pikachu came back down again and connected the attack with Garchomp's collar. The collar was sliced in two, and fell off of Garchomp's neck. The Pokémon reverted back to its original form, and slowly stepped backward, teetering off of the edge of the tower. Ash could see that the Pokémon was about to fall off and ran to help, shouting, "Garchomp, please stay awake! You'll fall!" The Garchomp closed its eyes and fell backward off of the tower. Ash and Pikachu jumped after the unconscious Pokémon.<p>

* * *

><p>Serena watched in utter horror as the three fell from the tower. Their fall seemed like it was happening in slow motion, and tears began to form in her eye. Her mother sat next to her with her hands covering her face, it seems like she wasn't able to watch this man plummet to his death. Serena looked down, she couldn't watch what would happen next.<p>

* * *

><p>Ash grabbed Garchomp as they fell and yelled, "Please Garchomp wake up, we need you to wake up!" He looked at Pikachu and shouted, "Quick buddy, use your strongest thunderbolt to wake Garchomp up! It needs to wake up or we'll all die!" Pikachu gathered electricity and launched the attack at the Garchomp. The attack also hit Ash, but it was a small price to pay if they didn't wake up the Pokémon. Garchomp slowly opened its eyes and looked at Ash, the attack was not able to affect it, considering it's secondary typing in ground, but it was enough to jolt it awake. Garchomp summoned all of the strength that it had to open up its arms and catch the draft, enough to slow their descent. It then tried to turn over so that it would take the brunt of the crash and spare Ash and Pikachu, it was the least it could do to protect the ones that saved it. They landed on the ground in a plume of dust and asphalt. Ash looked up to see that he and Pikachu were alright, but when he looked down at Garchomp, he saw the pain that it was in. "Garchomp, are you alright?" The Pokémon looked up and gave an affirmative sigh before laying his head down on the ground. The impact was not enough to hurt Garchomp, and it was satisfied that it was able to protect Ash and Pikachu. Professor Sycamore ran up to the three and said, "I'm so happy that you're alright, how's Garchomp?"<p>

"Garchomp is fine now, he saved us all."

"No Ash, you saved Garchomp! If it wasn't for you it would have killed itself up on that tower. I have to thank you. Right now we need to get Garchomp a bed at the Pokémon Center."

* * *

><p>Serena looked up at the television to see that the trainer and the two Pokémon were alive, "Oh boy, what a relief that was. Mom, today has been way too intense for me!" She saw the camera give a close up of the trainer's smiling face. "Wait a minute, that can't be him can it?" she looked at the young trainer's face, one that she hadn't seen in a long time. She knew what she had to do, it had been 6 years since she was able to become a trainer, but she had put it off to live at home with her mother. Now though, Serena knew that she was going to get a Pokémon and meet the boy that she knew from her childhood.<p>

* * *

><p>It was the next morning, Ash had yet to really see the damage that Garchomp had done, but in the light of day he could see that the lab had been demolished by Garchomp's attacks. He looked over to his friends sitting at a table and enjoying breakfast. Clemont and Bonnie were thankfully alright after the scaffolding crashed. Ash was amazed that Clemont thought of such a clever way to keep him and Bonnie safe. Ash looked at the young inventor and asked, "Hey Clemont, what are you planning on doing now that the gym's construction has received a 'minor' delay?"<p>

"Well Ash, you see Bonnie and I were actually wondering if we could travel with you? You have shown how much you truly care about Pokémon, and we could learn a lot from each other on the journey."

"It would be an honor Clemont. Besides, traveling is always more fun with friends!"

Bonnie rushed up to Ash and grabbed his hand, "Yay! Ash if you catch any cute Pokémon can you let me take care of them?"

"Sure Bonnie, would you like to start with Pikachu? He loves it when you pet his tail."

"I would love to Ash! Thank you so much!"

Bonnie took Pikachu and started to brush its tail vigorously. "Oh man, Pikachu. You're fur is all covered in dirt and grime. I'm gonna make sure that you look perfect once I'm done with you, Pikachu."

Pikachu looked at Ash in a way that said "You've betrayed me" before Ash said one last thing to Bonnie, "Oh, and Pikachu loves ketchup, you wouldn't mind treating it for me would you?" The Pokémon looked back at Ash, forgiving him for his misdemeanor over the promise of that sweet, red sauce. It smiled at its trainer and took the intense brushing that it was being given.

Professor Sycamore came into the room and said to Ash, "I just want to thank you again for all of what you've done. As a sincere token of my appreciation I would like you to take this Pokédex and one of the Kalos starters, here take a look." 3 small Pokémon came out from around the corner to come into Ash's view. "This one…" Sycamore pointed to a small green Pokémon that looked like a chipmunk, "… is Chespin, the Spiky Nut Pokémon, it's the grass type starter."

"This one…" Sycamore gestures to a blue, frog-like Pokémon "… is Froakie, the Bubble Frog Pokémon and water type starter of Kalos."

"And last but not least is this one…" Sycamore points to a yellow and red fox Pokémon "… Fennekin, the Fox Pokémon, and rounding out the trio at the fire type starter."

Sycamore once again looked at Ash and said, "So which Pokémon will you choose?"

Ash looked at all three of his choices, thinking for a long while as to which partner he would choose. "I've finally decided on… Froakie." Ash extended his hand out to the Pokémon, who jumped up on Ash's arm and onto his shoulder.

"Good choice Ash, and here is your Pokédex." Sycamore said as he handed Ash the handheld device. "Good luck on your journey, all of you. Come back anytime!"

Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie all grabbed their things and left the Pokémon lab together on their way to Santalune City.

* * *

><p>Serena was busy picking out the clothes that she would wear on her trip to Lumiose, she had decided on a gray, sleeveless blouse with a white collar and her favorite red skirt, but she wanted to pick the right hat to truly complete the outfit. Her mother came in to see Serena contemplating between two hats, a red beret or a pink felt hat with a black bow. "Serena, just wear the beret, I think it looks great on you."<p>

"Thanks for helping me decide on wearing the pink one, Mom."

Grace mumbled incoherently before saying, "Where are you going anyway, dressed like this?"

"To Lumiose City of course, I want to get my very first Pokémon!"

"Hmm… Is this about that boy last night on the television, I could see your demeanor change after seeing him."

Serena blushed, _Leave it to my Mom to call me out on a boy,_ "No, it's just that I'm 16 now, and I want to explore the Kalos region as a Pokémon trainer" _And get away from practicing Rhyhorn racing._

"Alright, but please be careful out there, and try not to get caught up with boys, the last thing I would want is to have you come home with a boyfriend in tow."

"Mom!"

"I'm just stating, that's it. Do you have everything you need for the journey?"

Serena looked into her pink backpack and said, "Yep, everything is here." She went up to her mother and gave Grace a big hug before rushing out the door and towards Lumiose City. _I'm so excited to see what is about to happen on my journey, and to finally get to see HIM again._

* * *

><p><strong>Well, how was the first chapter? Yes it is a lot like the anime I know, but don't worry it will be different-ish from here (the anime has some good ideas). Thanks for reading and leave a review, comment, or question if you have any!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2: First Catch

**So I just really wanted to get another chapter out into the wild, seeing as I only had one for everyone to read. This one is a little shorter than the previous but it's still about 4,400 words. I wanted to make the chapters have an average of 5,000+ words so that you guys have some substance to read every time I update.**

**So without further ado, here is Chapter 2: First Catch**

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><p>Serena had finally arrived in Lumiose City. The hustle of all the people in the big city was very different than the small town of Vaniville. She watched as cars and buses went by in the streets, carrying their passengers to all corners of the city. In the distance she could see the heights of Prism Tower, a giant amongst most of the buildings in the city. She would have loved to take a stroll down Vernal Avenue to window shop all of the exquisite fashion stores, or to get a delicious lunch in one of the many different cafés that the city had to offer, but at the moment she was looking forward to getting her first Pokémon from Professor Sycamore.<p>

As she made her way to the lab, she saw the destruction that the Garchomp wreaked on this area of the city. There were large areas of the street that were ripped apart, with pieces of asphalt and concrete thrown 20 feet down the street. Many buildings had serious structural damage, with some being torn down to the supports. It looked like a tornado had come through and ransacked the entire area. Serena looked at the relatively "unscathed" lab, considering it only had a few blown out windows and a large hole in one of the walls. "Wow, is this all that one Garchomp can do?" She said as she approached the front door.

Serena walked into the lab's foyer and was incredibly surprised with what she saw before her. The room was full of papers and books strewn about the ground intertwined with piece of wood that used to be bookshelves. The walls were cracked from the shockwave of Garchomp blowing out the façade with a Hyper Beam. Professor Sycamore came into the room to see the young woman standing there. "Hello there, I'm Professor Sycamore. You must be Serena Gabena. You're mother called earlier and said you were coming to receive your first Pokémon. Sorry about the mess by the way."

"It's quite alright, I saw what happened on the news last night. Professor, who was the trainer that managed to calm down the Garchomp?"

"Oh, you're talking about Ash Ketchum, he's a trainer about your age from Pallet town."

_So it is Ash! I knew it! I'm so excited to see him._

"Last I heard he was headed to Santalune City to get his first gym badge."

"Santalune City huh? Well Professor, I'm ready to get my very first Pokémon."

"Ah, splendid! Let's get the three choices out here for you! I'm sure you know about all of them by now."

The three Kalos starters made their way in front of Serena and Sycamore followed closely by one of the lab technicians. "Well Serena, here you go. One of these three Pokémon will become your new lifelong partner. Choose wisely." Serena looked at all three of the Pokémon before she turned to Sycamore. "They're all great choices, but I already knew which one I wanted before I came."

Serena kneeled in front of the fire fox, "Well Fennekin, what do you say? Do you want to join me on my journey?"

The Pokémon looked at its new trainer with a gleam in its eye. Finally it would go on an adventure with its own trainer and see far away lands, it leaped into Serena's arms and licked her face. "Fennekin, we're gonna have so many great adventures together."

"Fennekin!"

Sycamore smiled at the duo, "Looks like you two will have a great time together. Before I forget, Serena, let me give you your Poké balls and Pokédex." He handed her the 5 red and white balls and the small handheld Pokémon searching device. "And finally here is Fennekin's Poké ball, now go out there and explore the world of Pokémon."

"Thanks Professor. C'mon Fennekin, let's go!"

As she walked out the door all she could think about was how Ash would act when he finally saw her again, would he be surprised? Confused? Interested?

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><p>"Man I'm hungry." Ash moped. The four traveling companions were busy walking through a path carved into a dense forest. Bonnie looked at him and said, "Yeah me too. Clemont can we please stop and eat?"<p>

"Sure Bonnie, let's stop here and have some lunch. I've got all of my cooking utensils with me so I can fill us all up."

They stopped in a clearing with a small picnic table shaded by a large apple tree. Clemont began to heat water in a pot as Ash released all of his Pokémon. "Alright you guys, let's get you some lunch."

All of the Pokémon cheered as Ash and Bonnie set out plates for Pikachu, Gible, Froakie, and Bunnelby. Bonnie and Ash sat with the Pokémon as Clemont finished making lunch for the human members. All three of them started eating under the shade of the tree, not knowing that they were being watched by a small mouse Pokémon from the tree above. The Pokémon was busy gnawing on an apple as it curiously watched the group. It leaned forward too far though, and dropped the apple on Ash's head. "Oww…what was that?" Ash looked up to see the small Pokémon fall down in front of Bonnie. Bonnie stared at the strange Pokémon and yelled, "It's a Dedenne! You're such a cutie aren't you?"

Ash looked at the small Pokémon before pulling out his Pokédex to look it up. The Pokédex chirped to signal it was on and started to speak to Ash about the Pokémon, "Dedenne, the Antenna Pokémon: Dedenne communicates long distance with other Dedenne by sending radio waves through its antenna-like whiskers."

"Wow, so I'm guessing that it's an Electric type."

"Not only that Ash, but its also a Fairy type." Clemont spoke up. Ash looked at Clemont with a questioning expression and asked, "Is that a new type of Pokémon?"

"Yeah. Scientists just recently discovered this new type, and its shared amongst many already discovered Pokémon. Apparently Dragon types are at a serious disadvantage against them, I've never seen a Fairy type fight a Dragon type first hand though."

"Wow that's really cool, why don't you try to catch Dedenne then, Clemont?"

It was Bonnie's turn to interject, "Yeah, catch it Clemont! Let me take care of it, I want to take care of my first Pokémon!" Clemont looked sheepishly at his zealous young sister and nodded, saying, "You guys are right. Besides, I do specialize in electric types." Clemont looked over to Bunnelby and said, "Alright, Bunnelby, let's catch this Dedenne for Bonnie!"

Bunnelby stepped forward and readied itself to fight the Dedenne. However as Bunnelby prepared to fight, the Dedenne had different plans. The small Pokémon crawled up into Bonnie's hands and fell asleep. Clemont pulled out a Poké ball and said, "Well, this might be easier than I thought." He touched the Pokémon on the head with the ball. A red light wrapped around the Pokémon and sucked it into the ball. The ball wriggled a couple times and dinged to signal that the Pokémon had been caught. Ash watched with slight amusement and said, "Well… I guess you caught Dedenne after all! Great work, I think."

Clemont released the small Pokémon, who appeared from its Poké ball and quickly curled up against Bonnie and fell asleep again. "Look how cute you are, I've got a satchel here that we'll put you in!" Bonnie gently lifted the mouse and placed it into her yellow satchel that she carried across her body. The Pokémon slightly shifted and closed the front flap, giving it complete darkness to take its nap. Bonnie looked up at Clemont and whispered, "Thank you Big Brother, I promise that I will take good care of Dedenne!" Clemont patted his sister on the shoulder and said, "I'm sure you will. Now, let's finishing eating lunch before it gets cold."

After they had finished lunch, they continued walking along for a few hours, and decided to stop for the day. Even though there were a few hours of daylight left, they decided to stop early and get up early the next day. Clemont set up camp and began to tinker on a project that he was working on. Ash and his Pokémon went out to a nearby creek to train for their upcoming match against Alexa's sister, Viola before the sun set on the horizon. "Alright Gible, you better not have become soft after staying on Professor Oak's ranch for so long. Let's see that awesome Draco Meteor on those rocks!"

Gible looked at the rocks Ash pointed at and launched a ball of energy high up into the air. When the ball reached its apex, it burst into many smaller pieces and rained down on the group of rocks, completely pulverizing every rock it aimed at. "Wow Gible, that was really strong, you have been practicing that attack haven't you?"

Instead of giving a traditional answer, Gible once again jumped onto Ash's head and bit down. "Haha! I'll take that as a yes! Great work, Gible!"

Ash then turned to Froakie and said, "Let's see what tricks you have, Froakie. I want to see your Water Pulse and Bubble." Froakie looked at Ash with a look of conviction and jumped up high in the air. Ash was amazed at the speed at which it moved as it showed its attacks to him. Each individual power it showed hit the ground and launched dirt and rock a dozen feet up into the air. "Wow Froakie, you really are fast and strong to boot! We will do a lot of great things together, I can tell!"  
>It looked at Ash and yelled "Froakie!" in agreement with Ash's statement.<p>

Ash looked finally to the yellow mouse on his shoulder and said, "Alright Pikachu, it's your turn! Show me a full powered Thunderbolt!" Pikachu jumped off of Ash and into the air. It's cheeks sparked as it enveloped itself in lightning and arced it towards a nearby boulder. The move was powerful enough to burn a hole straight through the boulder, a feat of strength that was rivaled by only the strongest of electric type Pokémon. "That's the way Pikachu, I expected just as much from you!"

After Ash finished his training with his Pokémon, and returned Froakie and Gible back to their Poké balls, he noticed a small flock of bird Pokémon flying overhead. The flock landed down right in front of Ash to get a drink from the creek. Ash pulled out his Pokédex to learn about these small red and grey birds. The Pokédex spoke up, "Fletchling, the Tiny Robin Pokémon, although Fletchling's chirp is quite beautiful to hear, it is relentlessly tough with those who enter its territory."

Ash looked at the group of Fletchling in front of him and grabbed some Pokémon food out of his pack. He extended out his hand to feed the Tiny Robins, as no doubt they would want some food to go with their quick drink. As they were taking the bits of food from his palm, Ash noticed a blaze of fire speeding at him and the group of Fletchling. He jumped out of the way just in time to dodge the ball of fire as it hit the ground. Ash looked up to see a larger red bird where the fire had been, it looked angrily at the flock of Fletchling and let out a screech to intimidate the small birds. Ash pulled out his Pokédex again and pointed it at the bird. "Fletchinder, the Ember Pokémon, and the evolved form of Fletchling. Once in flight, Fletchinder can reach its top speed extremely quickly, giving it the edge in battle by attacking its opponents before they can get prepared."

The Fletchinder's arrival had scared off most of the Fletchling, who flew off into the trees in different directions. However, one single Fletchling remained and stared angrily at the larger bird. Ash could see that the two Pokémon were about to have a duel to see if the Fletchling could use the creek that was within the Fletchinder's territory. The Fletchinder flew up into the sky and came back down, completely incased in fire. "Wow, that's Fletchinder's Flame Charge, look how fast it moves!" Ash said to Pikachu. They could only watch the battle as the Fletchling managed to dodge out of the way, but the larger bird used its boosted speed to hit it from behind with a Wing Attack. The Fletchling fell to the ground as the Fletchinder readied another Flame Charge. The small bird did not have the time to move out of the way, and it took the attack straight on and landed on the ground, completely unconscious. The Fletchinder attempted to go in for another attack until Ash ordered Pikachu to fire a Thunderbolt at the bird. The electric attack was enough to scare the bird away, and Ash ran up to the fainted Fletchling. "Don't worry little buddy, I'll help you." Ash said as he gently lifted the Tiny Robin Pokémon and ran back to Clemont and Bonnie. "Guys you need to help!"

"What happened, Ash?" Clemont asked as the young man from Kanto and Pikachu ran up to him.

"This little guy, he got hurt in a battle for territory against a Fletchinder. I managed to scare it off, but I couldn't reverse the damage that this Fletchling had taken."

Clemont looked at the Fletchling and examined it. "Looks like it got burned by the Fletchinder. In the heat of battle Fletchinder's body can get hot enough to burn a Pokémon that touches it." Clemont then pulled out a small bottle and sprayed it onto the burned area. "This should help to cure the burn, but this Fletchling should rest here for the night, until it gets better."

Ash looked at the little bird, which opened its eyes weakly and saw Ash over it. Ash said to the Fletchling, "Don't worry, I'll wait here until you're better. Then, you and I will go back and fight that Fletchinder so that you and your flock can drink at that creek." Pikachu came up to Ash and pulled on his sleeve. "Don't worry buddy, I'll stay out here with Fletchling, you should go and get some rest. We'll be at Santalune City tomorrow and I want you rested for your gym battle." Pikachu ran into Ash's tent and curled up in a ball inside Ash's sleeping bag.

"You should also get some sleep too, Fletchling. We want you to be strong for your next battle against Fletchinder." The Fletchling nodded its head and fell asleep again, it would show that Fletchinder that it was not to be pushed around, no matter its size, and with Ash's help it would beat the larger Pokémon.

It was late in the night when Ash felt Fletchling gently pecking on his hand. He looked up to see that he had fell asleep next to the Pokémon. "Hey, how are you feeling there, Fletchling?"

"Fletch! Fletchling!"

Ash could see that the flying type was quite stressed at the moment, and it pointed up into the sky. He put on his hat and gazed up at the night sky, and what he saw made him gasp. In the sky was the Fletchinder, covered in fire and flying circles around the camp. "It's taunting you to come out and fight it again. Are you ready to fight it again Fletchling?"

The Pokémon looked at Ash and nodded. It flew up into the air and called out to the Fletchinder. It slowly swooped down and stopped in front of Fletchling. "Alright Fletchling, listen to me and we'll get through this."

The two Pokémon stared angrily at each other until Ash called out, "Okay Fletchling, use Quick Attack!" Fletchling flapped its wings and swooped down to gather speed. Once it reached max velocity, the Pokémon flew upwards in an attempt to hit the Fletchinder from below. The dying light of the campfire was enough to allow the Fletchinder to see the incoming Fletchling. It dodged out of the way and ignited itself and flew after Fletchling.

"Watch out Fletchling, it's coming right for you!"

Fletchling looked below it to see the Ember Pokémon chase after it, enveloped in a ball of fire. Fletchling managed to roll out of the way as the Pokémon flew past.

"Nice work, Fletchling! It increased its speed though, so let's see if we can hit it with another Quick Attack!"

Fletchling nodded and flew up at high speeds to ram its beak into the Fletchinder's chest. The Fletchinder recoiled from the attack but chased after Fletching before gripping its talons on the Tiny Robin Pokémon. There, it began to peck furiously at the smaller bird, dealing massive amounts of damage. "Fletchling get out of there! Use Gust to pry yourself loose!"

Fletchling managed to free its wings and flapped them hard enough to create a strong wind current. The Fletchinder was caught in the current and sent sailing downwards from Fletchling. The Pokémon swiftly recuperated and gave another Flame Charge. The attack landed on Fletchling as the Fletchinder soared upwards into the sky. "It's gotten faster again Fletchling, watch out for another Flame Charge."

Sure enough, Fletchinder came back down and rammed Fletchling down to the ground. It landed on the dying embers of the campfire, launching the charcoal around and blanketing the area in darkness. Ash looked up at the Fletchinder and saw that its feathers were sparkling from the embers that settled on it during the multiple Flame Charges. He looked at Fletchling, who managed to get up out of the fire pit covered in black soot. If Ash didn't know it was there, it would be nearly impossible to see. _That's it, we can see Fletchinder, but it can't see Fletchling_. "Great work getting back up, Fletchling. We have the advantage now, since Fletchinder can't see you, fly high and hit it with another Quick Attack."

The larger bird looked around to see where the attack was coming from, but in the dark it couldn't see the smaller Pokémon, until it was hit from above by Fletchling. Fletchinder looked around with a snarl and attempted to use another Flame Charge against Fletchling. Though it was faster than Fletchling, the Pokémon couldn't see its target in the night, making its speed essentially useless in this scenario. Fletchinder tired itself out too much from flying rapidly in a circle, leaving the battle right in Ash's hands. "Alright Fletchling, finish it off with Wing Attack!"

Fletchling came at the Fletchinder from the front and landed the finishing blow on its opponent. The larger bird fell from the sky and crashed on the ground. It slowly lifted itself up as Fletchling landed right in front of it. Ash watched as Fletchinder nodded its head at Fletchling, showing that it was impressed with the way Fletchling battled. The two birds, no matter their size, were now equals. The Pokémon then tried to lift off of the ground, but fell back down, too exhausted to sustain flight. Ash ran over to Fletchinder and said, "That was a great battle Fletchinder, you should really get some rest here for tonight, at least until you get your strength back."

The Ember Pokémon allowed Ash to pick it up and take it to a soft spot of grass to sleep. Ash pulled out a blue, spherical berry from one of the pockets in his backpack and gave it to Fletchinder. "Here you go, this Oran berry should help you recover." The Pokémon ate the berry gratefully and set its head down on the ground to fall asleep. Ash looked over at Fletchling, who was busy cleaning the soot out of its feathers. "Fletchling, we really did it. We make such a great team." He said. The Fletchling stop cleaning for a moment and stared at Ash. It realized that this trainer could help it grow stronger despite its size, but it had a duty to its flock, to lead them somewhere safe.

Bonnie woke up and came outside of her tent to see Ash, Fletchling, and Fletchinder asleep on the grass, as well as the ruined campfire. Clemont and Pikachu also crawled out of their tents to see the state of the campsite. "Wow! What happened out here? Did we miss something last night?" Bonnie asked.

Ash slowly woke up and looked at Bonnie. He said, "You and Clemont missed the pinnacle battle between Fletchling and Fletchinder. Fletchling and I managed to win after it was thrown into the dying embers of the fire. The cover of black soot made it almost invisible to Fletchinder."

"That sounds awesome Ash, but what's the Fletchinder still doing here?"

"It was too weak to move last night, so I took care of it until it got better."

Fletchinder and Fletchling woke up from their slumber and looked at the group. Fletchinder gave Fletchling another nod and flew up, soaring high up and away from the group.

Pikachu ran over to Ash and licked his face. Ash got up and lifted Pikachu up onto his shoulder. He then turned to Fletchling and asked, "So Fletchling, would you like to join us on our journey? I sure would like to have a strong Pokémon like you."

Fletchling looked down, slightly embarrassed. Pikachu jumped down off of Ash's shoulder and started to converse with Fletchling. After they were done, Pikachu ran back over to Ash and attempted to tell him what was bothering Fletchling. It took Ash a couple tries, but he eventually understood what Pikachu was trying to say.

"Fletchling can't come with us, it has a duty to its flock. Isn't that right, Fletchling?"

The Pokémon nodded and looked down. It was sorry that it and Ash had to part ways, but there was no other way. Ash then asked, "Is it alright if we see you off?"

Fletchling gave a chirp in the affirmative. It flew up and circled over the group as they packed up their tents and had breakfast. They followed Fletchling over to the creek where it and Ash first met. As it landed, the rest of its flock appeared from the trees and greeted their leader, who had been missing since yesterday. Ash looked at the Fletchling and said, "Well, I guess this is where we say goodbye. I hope to see you again someday."

As the group parted with Fletchling, Ash felt a gust of wind as the Fletchinder from before flew over his head and landed in front of the flock of Fletchling. Like the day before, all of the Fletchling fled into the trees except for the one. Ash watched as the two bird Pokémon conversed with each other, until something unexpected happened. The Fletchling called to its flock to join it, and introduced them to the larger bird and said goodbyes to all of the other Pokémon. Then it flew over to Ash and unclipped on of his empty Poké balls from his belt. "Wait, Fletchling, you can join me now? Did that Fletchinder promise you that it would protect the flock?"

The Tiny Robin Pokémon nodded its head and pecked on the Poké ball. A red light encased the Pokémon and pulled it back into the ball. The ball wiggled a couple times and dinged to signal that the Pokémon had been caught. "Alright! Pikachu we have another friend here in the Kalos region!" Ash bent down to pick up the ball, and clipped it back onto his belt while Pikachu jumped up and down in joy next to him. Ash looked at the Ember Pokémon and said, "Thank you, Fletchinder, for everything."

The Pokémon nodded at Ash and flew off of the ground, followed by the entire flock of Fletchling. They waved goodbye to Fletchinder and the flock of Fletchling as they disappeared into the sky. Ash looked to his traveling companions and said, "Well, are you guys ready to go to Santalune City so I can get my first badge?"

Clemont was the first to speak up, "Yeah, Santalune is only a couple of hours away, so if we get moving now we can get there by lunchtime!"

Bonnie grabbed Ash's shirt and said, "2 Pokémon and a gym badge in little more than a day? I'm so excited to see what happens from here! Let's go!"

Bonnie started running towards Santalune City as Ash and Clemont raced to catch up, excited for the adventures of a new day.

* * *

><p>Serena woke up in her bed at the Pokémon Center on Route 4. Next to her was her new partner, Fennekin, still asleep and using its tail as a pillow. Serena gently pet the Fox Pokémon on its head and got up to get dressed. As she finished getting ready for the day, Fennekin woke up and started to run around her excitedly. "Hey Fennekin, you ready to go to Santalune City, after we get some breakfast of course?"<p>

The little orange Pokémon smiled and jumped into Serena's arms and nuzzled against her. They both went down the stairs and into the main lobby, Serena walked into the main lobby of the Pokémon center to see the smiling face of Nurse Joy and her large pink and white Balloon Pokémon, Wigglytuff. "Hey Nurse Joy, where can I get a bite to eat?"

"Well, that's the doorway to the cafeteria. The food is all free to trainers who stay the night, so take as much as you want."

"Thanks for the help Nurse Joy!"

Serena went through the doorway to the cafeteria and grabbed a tray of food for her and Fennekin. Once they finished their breakfast, Serena stretched her arms and said, "This is so nice, there's no Fletchling to wake me up, and no Rhyhorn racing to practice. I kinda like this trainer thing. Did you get enough to eat Fennekin?"

"Fennekin!"

"That's good. Well, are you ready to get to Santalune City?"

Fennekin jumped up and onto Serena's shoulder. They went to the lobby and thanked Nurse Joy for the hospitality before going out into the morning. Serena ran down the flight of stairs and onto the road to civilization. In the distance she could see the roofs of the buildings in Santalune City. _Just a little bit farther until we get to the gym and I finally get to see Ash again. Today is gonna be so exciting!_

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><p><strong>Thanks to everyone for reading this chapter. I can't make any promises as to when I'll release the next chapter (The Santalune Gym battle and meeting of Ash and Serena) because I want it to be a great start to Ash's gym battles and the relationship between our two characters. Be sure to leave comments, questions, or reviews as they help me make this story awesome. Many thanks to everyone who follows or favorites the story!<br>**

**Until next time everyone, look for me on the slopes of the Himalayan mountains with my trusty typewriter! (That's supposed to be a joke about my name DictumYeti...yeah it's bad I'll just leave now)**


	3. Chapter 3: A Big Step

**After a week here it is, the part that will make or break this fanfiction for the future!**

**I spent a lot of time writing and rewriting many parts (especially in an attempt to fix all of the STUPID grammatical errors I made in the other chapters) and I feel like it is much better. I really hope you guys all enjoy all 7800 words here, because I really enjoyed writing it.**

**Without further fluff from me, here's Chapter 3: A Single Step**

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><p>"Here we are Ash, Santalune City!"<p>

Ash looked around and took in the sights and smells of the traditional Kalosian town. This place reminded him of some of the small cities in Kanto, like Viridian City, except that Viola wasn't secretly the head of a criminal organization out for world domination. Ash, Pikachu, and their companions walked down the cobblestone streets into a large plaza with a huge fountain in the center. Ash watched as pokémon and children played in the fountain, soaking in the cold water spewing out in all directions. He sat down on one of the benches by the fountain and pulled a sandwich out of his pack. He took half of it and handed it to Pikachu, who gladly took it and began to eat.

"Do you like it buddy?" Ash asked the mouse pokémon.

"Pika Pi!" it said with a smile on its face.

Ash smiled back and began to chew on his own half of the sandwich. He heard the click of a camera shutter, and looked up to see a young woman with blond hair peering at him through a camera viewfinder. The black lens was pointed right at Ash and Pikachu. The woman lowered the camera and said to Ash, "Great picture! I can really see the bond that you and your Pikachu share."

"Thanks, Pikachu and I have been together for 7 years now. Nobody can ever be closer than us. My name is Ash Ketchum, and you are?"

"I'm Viola, it's nice to meet you Ash." Viola said as she extended a hand to the young trainer.

Ash gladly accepted the handshake and asked, "Viola? Wait, are you the gym leader here in Santalune City?"

"The one and only."

"Cool! I actually came here just to see you!"

"Then you must be here to get a gym badge."

Ash nodded, "I am, its my first step on my way to the Kalos League."

"Well come on then, I'm not one to leave a challenger waiting. The gym is this way" Viola replied as she pointed down a street on their right.

Viola signaled Ash, Pikachu, Bonnie, and Clemont to follow her as they made their way to the gym. As they all became acquainted on the walk, Ash learned that Viola specialized in bug type pokémon and she had a hobby for photography, even doing work for her sister, Alexa, when she was in Kalos. He thought about what pokémon he would use alongside Pikachu in the battle. Viola would expect challengers to use types that were strong against bugs, so she probably had a strategy against pokémon like Fletchling, leaving Gible and Froakie for Ash to use. If it was a 2v2 battle, Ash would have to choose a pokémon to sit out in the battle. As he pondered, he didn't notice that they had reached the gym. If Clemont hadn't stopped him, he might have kept walking.

The Santalune Gym was older in style than the rest of Santalune City. It was surrounded by bushes and trees that were meticulously groomed, it showed that the groundskeeper took a lot of pride in maintaining their work. The cinderblock exterior was painted a darker yellow green to accentuate the lightly blue-tinted windows. Viola walked up the steps and held open the glass door, motioning the group to enter. As they came into the atrium, the gym changed its look from an old building to a modern art gallery. On all of the walls were framed pictures of many different bug type pokémon. Ash looked at Viola and asked, "Did you take all of these pictures, Viola? They're amazing!"

"I did. Though its only a hobby, I really do enjoy the finer arts of photography."

Ash looked around, to find another woman in a red and black shirt sitting on a chair and writing on a notepad. Next to her, a small yellow lizard pokémon, a Helioptile, ran around the legs of the chair. When Helioptile saw Ash and Pikachu, it jumped into Ash's arms and snuggled against him. Ash laughed and said, "It's nice to see you too, Helioptile." The pokémon hopped out of Ash's arms and motioned for Pikachu to join it. Pikachu leaped off of Ash's shoulder and began to exchange electricity with the Generator Pokémon. As the pokémon played, Ash approached the woman and asked, "Long time no see, Alexa. How have you been?"

"I'm great Ash, though I should ask how you're doing, since you like to jump off of towers after falling pokémon."

"Heh, you saw that?" Ash said, rubbing the side of his head in embarrassment.

"I'm pretty sure half of the Kalos region saw that. I'll give you props, nobody except you could have done that. You did save a pokémon's life and protected the city."

"Well, it was the least I could do. I'd do anything to help a pokémon…"

As Ash conversed with the reporter, Bonnie and Clemont were busy admiring Viola's vast gallery of photography. "These are really cool pictures Clemont, I love this one over here!" Bonnie said as she pointed to a framed picture of a group of metapod hanging from a tree.

"Yeah, I really liked that one too. It's really cool how the Metapod look just like leaves."

"Ooh Clemont. I really love this one!"

Clemont turned around to see Bonnie down on one knee in front of a blushing Viola. Clemont immediately grew pale and yelled, "Bonnie! What are you doing?"

"Clemont you know you need someone to take care of you! Viola is so beautiful and she's another gym leader. She's perfect for you! What do you say Viola?"

Clemont grew extremely embarrassed because of his sister, and used his Aipom Arm to pull her away from Viola while asking, "Bonnie, why do you always have to embarrass me when it comes to women? I'm only 15, I don't want you to find me a wife!"

"Clemont, you're so hopeless with girls that you NEED me to find you a wife."

"What!? Bonnie!"

Ash chuckled as Clemont lectured his younger sister. Bonnie was beginning to remind him of Brock in some ways. She really loved caring for pokémon and apparently also proposed to women, although her proposals were meant to help her brother. He looked over to Viola, who was still recuperating over the shock of getting asked to marry someone by the young girl. He walked up to her and queried, "So Viola, would you like to start our battle?"

"Um…yeah. Over through those doors is the battlefield." Viola said as she pointed to another set of double doors

Ash followed Viola through the doorway to a large bright room filled with various florae and teeming with bug pokémon. Sunlight poured down from the glass ceiling and illuminated the entire room. The gym looked more like a greenhouse than anything. Ash and Pikachu walked through rows of flowers, vegetables, and trees to the arena on the far side of the room. The battlefield was indented into the ground and he had to walk down a flight of stairs to reach the white challenger box. He stepped down onto the dirt field as Viola made her way to the other side, stopping in her own white rectangle on the ground. Alexa, Clemont, and Bonnie stayed on the floor above in the spectator section. Viola gave Ash a smirk and yelled, "I hope your ready for this Ash."

"You know I am, Viola." Ash said as he gave her a look of pure determination.

The battle referee off to the side looked left and right at the two trainers before shouting, "Alright, this is an official gym match for the Bug Badge between Viola, the gym leader, and Ash, the challenger! The rules are as follows: both trainers have two pokémon, but only the challenger can substitute. Now, release your first pokémon!"

Viola pulled out a Poké ball and said, "Let's get this started. Take the field, Surskit!"

The blue Pond Skater Pokémon came out in a flash of white light. Though it was known to be fast and agile on a pond, it couldn't move very fast on the dirt. This gave Ash the advantage as he shouted, "A Surskit huh? This should be fun. Let's go Gible!" Ash threw his Poké ball to release the dragon/ground type pokémon. It looked at its opponent and growled deeply.

The referee raised her hands up and exclaimed, "This is a battle between Viola's Surskit and Ash's Gible. You may begin!"

The trainers stared intently at each other before Viola shouted, "Alright Surskit, use Water Sport." The pokémon launched a large jet of water out of the yellow antenna on top of its head. As the water rained down it mixed with the dirt ground of the arena, making it slick and muddy. Gible tried to step forward, but it struggled to move its feet in the thick mud.

Ash then called to his pokémon, "Quick Gible, give that Surskit a Headbutt!" Gible rushed forward and attempted to ram its opponent with the fin on top of its head. The thick mud slowed down Gible enough to let Surskit dodge the attack easily. Gible slipped in an attempt to stop itself and landed face first in the mud, sliding to a stop in the middle of the field.

Viola grinned and said, "Surskit is not too fast on land, so turning the field into muck evened out the speed at which both of our pokémon can move. But why be on equal footing when I can have an advantage? Surskit use Ice Beam!"

Surskit focused its energy and fired an icy beam around the field and at Gible. Ash's pokémon managed to roll away from the attack, but skid across the layer of ice that formed on the ground. Gible tried to stand back up, but quickly lost its footing on the slick ice. Ash clenched his teeth as he saw the advantage Surskit now had over the dragon type. It could now skate around on the ice while Gible could barely keep its balance, and it knew an ice type move. Surskit sped toward Gible and rammed into the land shark, sending it sliding across the ground towards Ash. Ash thought hard for a second before he realized the solution to Gible's mobility problem. "You are clever Viola, but Gible and I still have some tricks up our sleeve. Gible, use Dig!"

Gible pushed off of the ground with its legs and smashed the ice below its feet before swiftly digging a tunnel deep into the gym floor. Surskit skated around the field and attempted to locate its adversary before it felt a rumbling under its legs. The ground below it erupted and Gible jumped out and latched on to the insectoid pokémon with its powerful jaws. Gible gained momentum by spinning and threw its opponent down to the ground. Surskit was stunned, but shook itself off and awaited another command from Viola.

"That's an interesting trick there Ash, but we're no pushovers either. Use Sticky Web, Surskit!"

Surskit launched a ball of sticky silk at Ash's pokémon. The icy field tripped up Gible and it fell back onto its stomach. The silk hit Gible dead on and trapped it against the ground. Gible tried to break free as Viola called for another Ice Beam. Once again, Surskit focused its energy into the antenna on its head and fired another freezing beam directly at the trapped pokémon. Ash watched with horror as the super effective attack struck Gible, displacing it from Sticky Web but majorly wounding it. The pokémon slowly lifted itself off of the ground and roared, signaling that it still had fight left. Ash smiled as he called out, "Great work getting back up, Gible! Now use Dig again!"

Gible once again burrowed underground, leaving Surskit alone on the battlefield for the second time. Surskit dug its skates into the ground in an attempt to feel for the oncoming attack. Viola quickly saw what the pokémon was doing and shouted to it, "Wait for it to be right under you!" Surskit nodded and stood absolutely still, closing its eyes so that it could concentrate on finding the missing Gible. It felt a tremble coming up towards it and quickly opened its eyes to prompt that it sensed the arrival of Gible. "Surskit, jump and use Signal Beam!" Viola shouted as she clenched her fists tight.

Surskit leaped into the air as Gible launched out of the ground under its previous position. It attacked the airborne Gible with a strong beam of blinding light that struck the land shark dead on. Gible was thrown back by the powerful move and landed in front of Ash, scratched and beaten from the unrelenting battle. Viola smirked at the young trainer and lectured, "Ash, you should know by now that I wouldn't let the same attack hit me twice in a row. You're gonna have to try a lot harder to win this match."

"I know, Gible and I were just testing you to see what you would do. Now that we know, we can use it to your detriment."

Viola chuckled slightly and asked, "What does that even mean?"

"You'll know soon enough, let's do this Gible!"

Gible lifted itself off of the ground and roared again. It seemed that Surskit's last attack only angered the dragon type. Ash kneeled over and spoke softly to Gible before yelling out, "One more time Gible, use Dig!"

"Again Ash? Have you learned nothing? Surskit, be ready to jump when you feel Gible under you." Viola commanded, surprised that Ash would try the same move three times in a row.

The two trainers stared at the battlefield intensely, waiting for Gible to surface again. They knew that both pokémon were real weak from fighting, and this fight would end with this last move. Surskit felt the tremors from Gible again and jumped up as the ground opened up again. However, it was not Gible that came out from under it, but a large ball of energy that pushed Surskit up higher into the air. Viola gasped, "Ash is that…"

Ash laughed, "Yep, it's Draco Meteor. You and Surskit fell right into our trap. Now, Gible, use Dragon Pulse!"

Gible leaped out of the ground and created a shockwave that knocked Surskit back to the ground as the Draco Meteor exploded and rained down onto the bug/water pokémon. The power of the move shattered the ice on the battlefield and created a cloud of dirt and smoke. As the dust settled, everyone in the room saw the pond skater pokémon unconscious on the ground. The referee of the match announced to everyone, "Surskit is unable to battle. Gible is the winner!"

Ash smiled wide as Gible ran back over to him and jumped onto his head, clamping its teeth onto Ash's skull. Bonnie, Clemont, and Alexa cheered at Gible from the stands. "That was awesome Gible! You did so amazing out there!" Ash said as he pulled the pokémon off of his head. Gible jumped out of Ash's arms and onto the ground as Viola recalled her Surskit. She then pulled another Poké ball off of her belt and pointed it towards the center of the field.

"Great work out there, Ash, but you still have to yet to face my strongest pokémon. Let's do this, Vivillon!"

Viola's Poké ball opened up and released a butterfly-like pokémon, its wings colored with varying shades of pink and black at the tips. Its body and head were a charcoal grey with a large white stripe on its thorax. Two black antennae poked out of the top of its head, both of them with a black, egg-shaped tip. Ash pulled out his Pokédex to scan the pokémon. It spoke in a monotone, female voice, "Vivillon, the Scale Pokémon, Vivillon are skillfully able to find a source of water. It has been said that you'll find a spring if you follow a Vivillon." Ash put the machine back into his pocket and pulled out a Poké ball, recalling Gible with a burst of red light. He then nodded to Pikachu, who jumped out onto the field, cheeks sparking with electricity.

"Well if you are using you're strongest pokémon, Viola, then I will as well. Pikachu and I will not lose!" Ash yelled, smiling wide as his eyes glowed with fiery resolve.

"I like the confidence Ash, but you need more than that to win!"

They eyed each other as the referee exclaimed, "This will be a battle of Ash's Pikachu versus Viola's Vivillon. If the challenger beats Vivillon, they will win the match and receive the Bug badge. You may begin!"

"Vivillon use Gust!"

"Pikachu, give it a Quick Attack!"

* * *

><p>As she walked through Santalune City, Serena could only think about how she would talk to Ash for the first time in eight years. Would he even remember her at first? She would have been crushed if he forgot her after all the years they've been apart. She walked down the road to see the large building with the Pokémon League insignia on it. She opened the doors into the gallery. "Wow this doesn't look like a gym at all. I wonder where the battlefield is." she commented while looking around the room, until she came upon another door. "This must be the door to the battlefield. Ash better be here, or I might end up chasing him all around the Kalos region!"<p>

Serena opened the doors into the greenhouse. She marveled as she saw the beautiful plants and trees that surrounded her. As she walked forward, she heard a large commotion towards the rear of the room. She ran that way to find two pokémon, a Pikachu and a Vivillon, exchanging blows in the middle of a large dirt arena. On the far side of the arena, Serena could see a blond-haired woman in a white tank top. A camera hung down from her neck on a black strap, stopping at her lower chest. Serena guessed that the woman was the gym leader of Santalune City, and gazed towards the near side to catch a glimpse of the challenger. What, or rather who, she saw made her heart skip a beat. From behind he still resembled the young boy that she remembered from nearly a decade ago. His signature messy, black hair was tucked into a red baseball cap and he wore a blue, collared shirt with a white stripe on either shoulder that ran down to the end of his short sleeves. It really is him, it's Ash! Serena was about to run down the stairs to go meet Ash when she was stopped by a friendly female voice that asked, "Welcome to the Santalune Gym! What can I help you with?"

Serena turned to the voice that stopped her. Standing at a railing overlooking the battlefield were three people: a young, bespectacled teen, what looked to be his younger sister, and a brunette woman with a Helioptile on her shoulder. Serena felt her cheeks heat up as she attempted to think of an alibi for being in the gym, "I just stumbled upon the gym and wanted to see a real match for once. Do you mind if I watched?"

The blond teen spoke first, "That'd be fine, our friend is currently doing battle with Viola for his first badge in Kalos."

The young girl was next to speak, "Yeah and it's getting real good! Come on over and watch with us!"

Serena nodded and walked over to the three spectators and joined them on the railing to watch the rest of Ash's battle.

* * *

><p>Ash was too busy focusing on the gym battle to notice Serena's entrance. He glanced at a beaten and battered Pikachu and shouted, "Alright, buddy, use Electro Ball!" Pikachu jumped up and gathered a sphere of electricity at the tip of its tail. Once it stored enough electricity, it propelled the ball at Vivillon. The attack was fast enough to strike Vivillon on the wing as it tried to dodge. "Nice work Pikachu! Now go and use another Quick Attack!" Pikachu rushed forward at max speed and rammed into the enemy pokémon, who fell backward onto the ground. Viola felt sweat drip down her forehead, Vivillon had taken way too much damage from Pikachu's attacks, it couldn't take any more punishment, but Ash kept slamming it with fast attacks. Viola needed to take away Pikachu's speed, but how could she do it? An idea popped into her head and she pointed at Pikachu, ordering, "Vivillon, gather all of your strength and use Hurricane!"<p>

Vivillon flapped its wings as hard as it could, wrapping Pikachu in a windstorm that threatened to lift the mouse pokémon off of the ground. Ash saw the peril that Pikachu faced and shouted, "Quick Pikachu, use Iron Tail to root yourself into the ground." Pikachu sheathed its tail in a white light and slammed it into the dirt, firmly planting itself so it wouldn't be picked up by Vivillon's Hurricane. As the windstorm died down, Pikachu attempted to remove its tail from the arena, only to have it remain embedded. It struggled again to pull away, but couldn't move.

Viola saw the predicament that Pikachu was in and decided to use it to her advantage. She shouted out, "Vivillon, charge a Solarbeam while Pikachu is stuck." Vivillon stretched out its wings to gather as much sunlight as it could. Pikachu began to cry for help as it attempted once again to pull its tail out of the ground. Ash gasped as he saw the state that Pikachu was in. If he couldn't get Pikachu free, there was no way that Gible would win with how tired it was after the battle with Surskit. He didn't know what to do. He looked up at Alexa, Clemont, and Bonnie. Next to them was a girl in a black blouse and a pink hat. She looked oddly familiar to him, as if he'd met her before a long time ago. He stared at her for a second as their eyes met. In her bright blue irises was a look of worry, and her eyes began to well up as she yelled out to Ash, "C'mon! Don't give up until it's over!"

Those words bombarded Ash, kicking him right in the gut. He looked down at the ground and grinned, speaking softly to himself, "She's right I shouldn't give up. I won't give up. That's not the way that I am. Everyone is relying on me to figure something out, and I will not keep them waiting." Ash lifted his head and stared at the battlefield with a blazing determination and bellowed, "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt to break the ground at your tail!"

Pikachu looked back at Ash and nodded, its gaze mirroring that of its trainer. It gave a cry of "Pikachu!" before launching a powerful electric attack in all directions around it. The lightning bolt tore open the ground and launched Pikachu up into the air just in time to dodge Vivillon's powerful Solarbeam. Ash then shouted, "Pikachu! Use Thunder!" and the pokémon charged up a huge amount of voltage and released a blinding flash of electric energy at Vivillon. When the attack landed, it ignited the air around Vivillon and caused a massive explosion followed by a strong shockwave that knocked Ash's hat off of his head. Vivillon was thrown down at Viola's feet, where it struggled to gain altitude and immediately fell back down, gasping for air.

The referee watched the events unfold and shouted, "Vivillon is unable to battle. Pikachu is the winner! The match goes to Ash Ketchum, the challenger!"

Ash gave Pikachu a wide smile as he ran to hug the small pokémon. "You did so awesome, Pikachu!"

"Pika Pi!" it replied as it rubbed its cheek against his neck.

Viola walked over to Ash, carrying a small case with a clear plastic lid stamped with a Pokémon League symbol in the middle. She gave the case to Ash while saying, "Ash, that was some battle. Here, take this. It is a case to carry all of the badges you get from the different gym leaders of Kalos." She then pulled out a brown, glass emblem that was shaped like a beetle. She offered it to Ash and said, "This is your first badge, the Bug Badge. You've crossed the first step on your way to the Kalos league, Ash. I hope we meet again, so that I can have a rematch."

He smiled and nodded, "I'd like that, thank you so much, Viola."

Ash took the badge and placed it in the case. He then gave Viola a friendly handshake and joined Clemont and Bonnie, who had now come down to greet the victorious trainer along with Alexa and Serena. Bonnie ran up to Ash and Pikachu and shouted, "That was so awesome, Ash! I really liked the combo of Draco Meteor, Dragon Pulse, and Dig. But that Thunder at the end was just the icing on the cake, it was so powerful!"

"Thanks Bonnie, but I couldn't have done it without Gible and Pikachu. You should give them the credit, not me."

Ash smiled at the young girl and picked up his hat before turning his attention to the mysterious young woman in the pink hat. "So who might you be? I heard you yelling when Pikachu got stuck there. You really helped me get my mind back into the battle."

"Oh me? I don't think I did that much." Serena replied, trying to hide the blush that slowly materialized on her face. _Wow, I can't believe Ash gave me a complement before he even got my name_. She regained her composure and stated, 'I'm Serena. I'm actually a new trainer from Vaniville town, and I wandered in here to see if I could watch a live gym battle. I'm lucky that I caught the back half of your match." _That's all a big lie, I hope Ash doesn't see right through it_.

Ash reeled back a bit, that name Serena brought back great memories from a long time ago. _Could that be her? No, Serena is a popular name, its probably just a coincidence_. Ash shook it off and said, "Well, I'm glad you came when you did. Say Serena, do you want to join Clemont, Bonnie, Pikachu and I on the way to the Pokémon Center? I'm sure you're just as hungry as we are."

"Yeah, that'd be great! I haven't ate anything since breakfast."

"Then let's go! C'mon guys!"

The group waved goodbye to Alexa and Viola one last time before leaving the gym. Ash couldn't believe how much time had passed while they were in the throes of battle. The sun began to wane in the western horizon, and the sky was now a vibrant shade of gold. On their way to the Pokémon Center, Ash turned to Serena and asked, "So Serena, what made you want to become a pokémon trainer in the first place. I'm sure you have a goal that you're trying to achieve."

Serena looked down and felt into her right skirt pocket. She pulled out a small handkerchief with a blue border and a Poké ball image stitched on the bottom right corner. She stopped and faced Ash, and confessed, "I actually wanted to find you and give you this, Ash."

Bonnie and Clemont gave a confused glance at the handkerchief. Why did Serena want to find Ash and give it to him? They then observed Ash's face. He gawked at the handkerchief, lost in thought, before he uttered, "That's my handkerchief that my mom made for me. I gave it to my best friend back at Professor Oak's summer camp a long time ago. Wait a minute… Serena?" Ash beheld his old friend and ran up to give her a tight embrace. He smiled and said, "I can't believe it's you! It's been so long that I nearly forgot, I didn't even recognize you at first!"

Serena's face began to heat up as she felt Ash's warm hug. As they released she held her head low, so as not to show anyone her furious blush. It seemed that her feelings for Ash from a long time ago flared back up, and she struggled to hold herself from falling into Ash's arms again. She only recuperated when Bonnie implored, "Wait you two guys know each other? How did you guys meet? You have to tell me!"

Clemont looked at Bonnie with disdain as Serena and Ash gave the girl a slight chuckle. Serena then bent over to be head height with Bonnie as she began her story, "Well you see Bonnie, it all started eight years at Professor Oak's Pokémon Summer Camp. I was about your age at the time, and I got lost in the woods during the first day of the camp…"

* * *

><p><em>Serena walked slowly through the woods, the sun was starting to set and she still had yet to find the campsite. She felt a tear fall down her cheek as she whispered to herself, "Where is everyone? I thought I was going the right way." She walked further into the woods and came to a stop under a large oak tree. Serena leaned up against the tree and began to cry softly against it, "I knew I shouldn't have come to camp, but Mom forced me to do it. Now I'm lost in the woods and the sun is setting. I don't want to be here all night long. I hate this camp."<em>

_Just as she finished ranting to herself, she heard a rustle in the bushes right next to her. She grew frightened and tried to run away, but tripped over a root and fell, scraping her knee against the rocks on the ground. Serena tried to hold her hand over the bleeding wound, watching the bushes to see what fearsome wild pokémon would be receiving a girl-sized snack. To her surprise, a Poliwag jumped out of the bush and stared at the crying, young girl. It tilted its head and hopped away from Serena. She lowered her head and whimpered, "Great help you were Poliwag, you scared me half to death." Then suddenly the plants began to rustle again. Serena closed her eyes and wished that she was home, tears streaming down her face. She observed as a head of untidy, black hair poked out from the bush. It wasn't another pokémon that rustled the greeneries, it was a young boy._

_"Poliwag where did you go? Camp is back this way." The boy called. He didn't see the pokémon, but instead found a girl on the ground, crying and clutching a bleeding knee. He stepped forward to talk to the young girl, "Hi I'm Ash. What's your name?"_

_"S-Serena." she muttered timidly in between sobs._

_"Hi Serena! What happened to your knee?"_

_"I got scared by that Poliwag and tripped."_

_Ash kneeled down in front of Serena and gave her a large grin. He then said, "Don't worry I have just the thing that'll help!" Ash pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped away the tears on her face before he tied it around the wound on Serena's knee. He then waved his hands over the injury and said, "Here I'll give it a lucky charm. Feel better! Feel better right away!"_

_Serena couldn't help but giggle at the boy's antics. He sure was being nice, helping her all on his own. She tried to stand up, but a sharp pain shot through her leg. "Oww! Ash it still hurts I can't stand up!"_

_"Sure you can, Serena, all you have to do is believe in yourself. Don't give up until it's over! Now c'mon!"_

_Ash held out a hand to pull up Serena. She gingerly took it, and he yanked hard enough to lift her up, but ended up tugging too hard and pulled her in a hug. Serena jerked back and stared at Ash, the pain in her leg vanishing almost completely. They both blushed a little and looked away from each other before Ash turned back and said, "There you go. See? You're walking! Now let's get back to camp before it gets dark."_

_Serena smiled at Ash as he lead her back to the campsite by hand. She couldn't believe that she had hugged a boy she just met, even if it was completely on accident. He was being so nice to her and even stayed to help. Maybe she would like this camp after all, now that Ash had become her friend. Serena felt her stomach twist as she thought of the boy holding her hand. They sure did look like a young couple holding hands. Serena snapped out of her thoughts as they stopped at the edge of the campsite. Ash faced her and asked, "So Serena, I'll see you tomorrow right?"_

_She giggled, "You bet! How could I say no?"_

_"Awesome, we're gonna have so much fun at this camp."_

_Ash let go of Serena's hand and ran towards the center of the camp. Serena stood still for a moment as she watched the boy run down the footpath. She held a hand to her heart and whispered, "See you tomorrow."_

* * *

><p>"For the rest of camp, Ash and I were inseparable. We did everything together! However, all good times must come to an end, and we had to say goodbye, but not before Ash gave me this handkerchief, as a token of our friendship."<p>

Bonnie stared at the handkerchief and inquired, "So that's the exact same handkerchief then?"

"Yeah, I knew that he would want it back at some point, but I never saw him again after we parted."

Bonnie beamed at Serena, "Well here we are now! So let's go to the Pokémon Center so that you guys can get caught up on the last eight years!"

Serena stood up and looked at Ash, who presented her with a bright smile and said, "That would be great, it has been a long time."

Pikachu looked at its trainer with glee. It was always excited to meet new friends, especially ones that Ash knew from his childhood, even Gary. While it didn't like Gary at first, it slowly warmed up to the professor in training after Ash's comeback win against Gary at the Johto League Conference. It was interested to see what new adventures would happen with Serena.

As they walked, Ash and Serena conversed with each other about all they had done. Serena was impressed by just how much Ash had done in the seven years since he became a trainer. While he had yet to win a League Championship, he managed to come within the Semi Finals in the Sinnoh League and Top 8 in both Unova and Johto. He even had managed to become the champion of the Orange League and Kanto Battle Frontier. "Wow Ash, you've accomplished so much since you've started as a trainer. I hope seven years from now I'll have accomplished nearly a fifth of that."

"Don't worry Serena, I know you will do great things! Have you decided what you want to do, besides Rhyhorn racing of course?"

Serena shook her head, "I think you misunderstood me, Ash. I never wanted to be a Rhyhorn racer. To be honest, I don't know what exactly I want to do at this point. That's why I came on a journey."

Ash gently touched her shoulder, "Take all the time you need, Serena. You don't have to rush. Take your time to enjoy the road and you won't go wrong."

Serena blushed again, "You're right, Ash. Thanks for the words of encouragement."

"You're welcome, anything for my best friend."

They walked for another half hour until they reached the center. This one was a lot larger than the one Serena stayed in the previous night, since it was the main Pokémon Center of Santalune City. They all walked through the doorway to see that the main room was packed with young trainers. "When they said that this was a meeting point for people starting their journeys, they weren't kidding." Ash said as he made his way to the front desk, where Nurse Joy waited for them with a pleasant smile on her face. Ash pulled out his Poké Balls and placed them on the desk. Pikachu jumped down from Ash's shoulder and sat in front of the nurse while Ash asked, "Hey Nurse Joy, can you give my pokémon a quick checkup and can my friends and I have 2 rooms to stay in for the night?"

"Certainly, although we don't have two open rooms at the moment, however we do have one large room if that would be alright?"

Ash looked back at the other three and relayed the question. Serena was hesitant at first, but soon warmed up to it when Bonnie pleaded for her to join them for the night. She nodded at Ash, who turned back to Nurse Joy and said, "Yeah, that's great."

"Alright, Wigglytuff will take your pokémon."

The Balloon Pokémon took Ash's Poké balls and Pikachu and left to give them medical treatment. Nurse Joy took a set of keys off of the wall and handed it to Ash. "Here's the keys to your room, it's gonna be room 211. Your pokémon will be ready in about half an hour, so come pick them up then. We hope you enjoy your stay."

Ash turned to his companions and asked, "Alright, let's get some food shall we?" to which he received a nod from his companions. They progressed to the cafeteria and grabbed 4 trays of food. They managed to find an open booth to sit at, and ate their dinner before Ash said, "I'll be right back, just gotta get Pikachu and the others."

"Alright Ash, Dedenne will keep your seat warm for you." Bonnie joked as Ash walked away laughing. Bonnie then grew a sly look and turned to Serena, asking, "Soooo Serena… What do you think of Ash?"

Serena looked questioningly at the young girl, "What do you mean, Bonnie?"

"You know what I mean. What do you _think_ of Ash?"

Clemont was the first to get what Bonnie was saying and exclaimed, "Bonnie! Why would you ask such a question?" Bonnie just stuck his tongue out and stared expectantly at Serena, who began to blush intensely.

"Are you asking me if I like Ash as more than a friend?"

"Of course! I see the way you ogle at Ash. He and Clemont are boys, so they are hopeless when it comes to spotting all the little hints that girls give, but I can see it."

Clemont looked at his sister and shouted, "Hey!"

Bonnie continued, "Anyway… what I'm saying is that you aren't as good at hiding it as you think you are."

Serena gazed at the young girl, surprised at her cunning intelligence, and whimpered, "We'll I guess you caught me red handed Bonnie. The truth is, after that day at summer camp I developed a secret crush on Ash, and when camp was over I was absolutely devastated. But, I'm pretty sure Ash only sees me as a friend, there's no way that we could be together."

"Then you aren't trying hard enough! Serena, we all know he likes you, he just doesn't know it yet."

"I dunno Bonnie…"

"I do! Just leave it all up to me Serena! Boys like Ash and Clemont are hopeless unless pushed into it."

Clemont once again burst, "Bonnie I don't need you're help! I told you before that I just don't want a wife right now!"

"Too bad! What are you gonna do when I become a trainer and leave? You can't just sit in the gym and work on inventions all day long."

At this point Ash had come back to the table with Pikachu on his shoulder. He watched as the two siblings carried on their argument and then mouthed to Serena, "What are they talking about?" to which he got a reply of "Bonnie trying to find a wife for Clemont" and a shrug. Ash chuckled lightly and sat next to her. He then asked everyone, "So, what do you guys want to do with the rest of the night here at Santalune?"

Serena was the first to speak up, "Maybe we can go sightseeing? I would love to look around Santalune City at night!"

Bonnie gleamed at Serena and shouted, "Yeah that'll be fun! I want to go with Serena, can I Clemont?"

The teen looked at his sister and said, "Sure you can. I won't join though, I have some things to finish with my inventions."

Bonnie then gazed eagerly at Ash and asked, "Will you join us Ash, it would be so awesome if you would!"

Ash glanced embarrassedly at the ground, "Well I actually wanted to do some more training with my pokémon. We need to be prepared for the next gym."

Serena gave Ash a pouting look before Bonnie interjected, "Yeah, but you don't even know where you're gonna go yet for your next gym. Besides, you guys all need a break after such an awesome victory!"

Ash sighed and nodded, "I guess you're right Bonnie, is that okay with you Pikachu?"

Pikachu rubbed its cheek against Ash's and replied with a loud, "Pika!"

Serena and Bonnie gave a wide grin each and shouted, "Alright!"

The three companions and Pikachu walked out of the Pokémon Center and began to look around the city. The sun had set and the lights in town flickered on. The streetlights illuminated their way as they explored all the night attractions that Santalune had to offer. Before they knew it, they had wandered for a couple hours around the town, and sat down in a grassy park to watch the stars. Dedenne crept out of Bonnie's satchel and sprawled out on the cool lawn as Pikachu jumped down from Ash's shoulder and curled up next to it. While Ash and Bonnie were fixated on the stars, Serena was fixed on watching Ash. _He may be older now, but he's the same boy from all of those years ago_. She watched as his large brown eyes glimmered with a fiery passion that sent shivers down her spine. He looked down to see her blue eyes hooked on him, "Hey Serena, are you alright?" he asked.

Serena came out of her trance, slightly embarrassed, and tried to redirect the topic, "Oh yeah, I was just thinking about you." _Nope, that's not what I wanted to say_. She blushed furiously and corrected, "I mean, I was thinking about your journeys. There was no way that you did all this alone, didn't you travel around with anyone?" _Good save, Serena. That will totally work_…

Ash gave her a smile, one that made her heart jump when she saw it, and said, "Of course I did, traveling is always more fun with friends! It first started out with Pikachu, but I have to say he didn't like me at first. Then came along Misty and Brock…"

As Serena listened to Ash speak about all of his past traveling companions, she couldn't help but feel a small tinge of jealousy. All of these people that traveled with Ash meant so much to him, and all managed to achieve their goals alongside the young trainer. _These people all came and found a dream that they achieved, but what do I want to do now? What can I make of myself to add to this awesome repertoire of friends that Ash has made? He said to me that I would figure it out in time, I guess I'll just have to believe him_. As he talked, she began to see just how many female friends he had made along the way. Misty, the Cerulean Gym Leader and fourth Sensational Sister; May, the "Princess of Hoenn"; Dawn, who followed her mother to become one of the top coordinators in Sinnoh; and Iris, the young dragon master in training. Serena couldn't help but feel humbled by the awesome friends that Ash had made. _These girls are all so famous worldwide, how could I hold a candle to that? He had to have dated one of them in the past, what makes me any better than them_?

Bonnie watched Serena's expression as Ash spoke. She knew what the older, honey-haired girl was thinking about, and decided to ask the question on Serena's mind for her, "So Ash, did you ever like any of these girls you traveled with?"

Ash stared blankly at her and replied, "Of course! I liked every last one of them. I know we will be friends forever."

Bonnie gave an exasperated sigh, "No not like that. I mean, did you like any of them as more than just a friend?"

Ash finally picked up what Bonnie was saying and shook his head, "Though I've thought about it a couple of times, I have never really 'dated' before. It's just not who I am right now."

The young blonde saw Serena sadden even more and tried to remedy the situation, "Well, I bet you're just waiting on the right girl right?"

"That's the point. All the other girls I've traveled with have been great friends, but nothing more than that." Ash then turned to Serena and said to her, "You'll be traveling from now on with us, right Serena? It's been so great seeing you again, and we could have great adventures together again. What do you say?"

Serena felt a rush of energy. I_s he really asking me to come with him? After we just talked about him dating? Okay don't read into it too much Serena, just try and stay cool._ "Umm… I…"

Bonnie interjected as Serena was trying to speak, "Yeah! It'll be fun if you come with us tomorrow! We could see so many great sights together! Please come!"

She giggled slightly at the young girl and replied, "Sure. How could I say no to you guys?"

Ash and Bonnie smiled again before Ash replied, "Good, I'm glad you'll be joining Serena. We'll have plenty of fun times on our journey, I just know it."

Serena gazed up at the night sky. The stars were all beautiful, and she saw the flickering lights of a plane as it crossed the black sea. She would finally get to see the world, or the Kalos region at least, beside her "best friend" from childhood. She looked back at Ash and Bonnie, and replied, "Yeah we will, I'm sure of it."

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><p><strong>So how was it guys? I know that some of you may be angry that Ash remembers Serena so early, but please hear me out:<strong>

**1: If Serena remembered Ash after so long, he must have had to done more than just help her in the woods one time. This has to be recurrent to make sense for her to like Ash for so long.**

**2: It gives me the ability to make more flashbacks later in the future, giving more backstory to one of my favorite characters in the anime (It goes Brock, Serena, Pikachu, etc.)**

**3: I don't think Ash would forget somebody so easily, he's not supposed to be dumb!**

**Thank you all for taking the time to read this, you guys and gals are what keeps me going. Don't worry, I haven't forgot about Clemont yet, I love his inventions, but they do take time to make. I also have plans for Team Rocket too (with more Wobbuffet)! Please leave a comment, review, question, inquiry, or criticism (as long as it's constructive and helpful, don't flame me) and favorite or follow if you like the story.**

**As always, thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4: Road to Lumiose

**Hey guys, it's been quite a while since I have last updated, and for that I am quite sorry. I've had a lot of work to do over the past couple of weeks, and left writing this on the back-burner. Good thing is, I'm not stopping this story for anything, as I want to write and I'm sure that you guys would like to read what I have to offer. I also have taken some criticism from you guys and tried to correct my story (did you like it?).**

**So without further delay, here is Chapter 4: The Road to Lumiose**

**Disclaimer: Do I even have to say this? I don't own pokemon, though it would be cool if I did.**

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><p>Serena woke up the next morning under the sheets of a bed in the Pokémon Center. <em>How did I get here, the last thing I remember was sitting out in the field and watching the stars with Ash and Bonnie. Did they carry me back here<em>? She looked down to see that she still had been wearing her clothes from the day before, and her hat perched on one of the posts by her head. All of the other beds were empty, except for a small note on the desk. Serena lifted herself up and walked over to read the note. It had messy handwriting, but she could make out the message that it held.

* * *

><p>Serena,<p>

We didn't want to wake you up. All of us are downstairs eating breakfast. Take your time and come join us.

Ash

* * *

><p>When Serena had finished reading the letter, she changed out of her clothes and into a fresh shirt and shorts. She grabbed Fennekin's Poké ball and released the fox pokémon. Fennekin gazed intently at her trainer, who said, "Good morning, Fennekin. Are you ready to go get something to eat?" No doubt the pokémon was hungry after it had been in its ball for too long. Thanks to the technology in a Poké ball, it could keep a pokémon dormant until they're needed again, reducing the amount of food they needed to eat every day. It was a luxury that pokémon staying out of their balls didn't have, but it didn't really matter much to them anyway.<p>

Fennekin hopped into Serena's arms as they left the room to reunite with their new travelling companions. Serena walked past the smiling Nurse Joy into the cafeteria, bustling with a large number of trainers getting ready for another adventure filled day ahead. Serena let Fennekin down and grabbed a tray and filled it enough to satisfy her and the fox pokémon. She spotted Ash, Clemont, Bonnie, and Pikachu sitting at a booth by the windows and moved to join them. Ash saw her coming first and said, "Hey, sleepyhead. We were wondering when you would show up. You were really tired last night, I had to carry you back to the room."

_So he did carry me back, I wish I was awake to see that. It would have looked so romantic_. "Thanks very much, Ash. I guess I haven't really travelled that much so I was a little tired."

As Serena finished talking, Bonnie launched out of the booth and came eye to eye with Fennekin before shouting, "Serena, is this your first pokémon? It's so cute!"

Fennekin gave a appreciative "Fenn!" and licked Bonnie's cheek, receiving a laugh from the young girl.

Ash grinned and said to Serena, "So you chose Fennekin, huh?"

Serena nodded, "Yeah. I've wanted to have my own Fennekin for a while now, but I never had time to go on a journey before."

"That's awesome, Serena. I can just tell that you and Fennekin will have so many great adventures together. You two already have become so close after so few days."

Serena blushed slightly, _Ash always has a way of getting me so flustered, even when he gives me a small compliment_. She then sat down next to him and ate her breakfast. Fennekin joined Pikachu and Dedenne, but preferred not to converse with them while she voraciously ate her own breakfast.

After they finished, everyone went back to the room and prepared for the day of traveling. Ash had decided that he would go to Cyllage City for his next badge. This meant that they had to backtrack, and go through Lumiose City again. Knowing that they had another day and a half of traveling to get to Lumiose, Clemont had packed a days worth of supplies using one of his successful inventions to pack all of the supplies in an area about the size of Pikachu. He tried to explain to everyone how he used the technologies in Poké balls to compact the supplies, but only ended up confusing all of his listeners. Once he had finished stuffing the supplies, and the others had done their laundry and daily duties, they all checked out of the Pokémon Center and left Santalune City behind them.

It was a rather nice day outside, and there wasn't a single cloud in the sky. Serena let Fennekin stay out of her Poké ball and enjoy the day, and the pokémon happily skipped beside her until it became exhausted, and retired to Serena's shoulder. Serena felt Fennekin's soft, warm fur tickle her neck as the pokémon snuggled up against her. The pokémon's heat made Serena start to sweat lightly, but she didn't mind. Being close to her own pokémon was enough for her.

* * *

><p>Little did they know, they were being watched from above. A large, Meowth-shaped hot air balloon floated overhead, carrying none other than the villainous Team Rocket, spying on the group and awaiting their next move. James pulled his pair of binoculars down and turned to Jesse and Meowth to ask, "So how should we try to catch Pikachu today?"<p>

Meowth looked up at the man and responded, "I'm glad you asked, Jamesy-boy. You see I have devised the perfect plan to finally stop the twerps."

Jesse gave an uncertain gaze at the talking pokémon and said sarcastically, "Yeah Meowth. That's exactly what you said for the last plan that you came up with."

"Yeah, but we never actually had success when the twerp still has all of his pokémon in their Poké balls. If we wait for the right time, we can use your guys' new pokémon to help catch him off guard and capture Pikachu for the boss. Now come close, I need to tell you all the details."

Jesse and James huddled up with Meowth as he explained his scheme. Jesse grew a sly look and said, "That's brilliant, Meowth. That Pikachu will definitely be ours for sure."

As she spoke, one of the Poké balls on her belt opened up, releasing a tall, blue pokémon with squinted eyes that saluted the surprised Rockets by yelling, "Wobbuffet."

Jesse gave the pokémon an exasperated sigh and said, "Yeah Wobbuffet, it's nice to see you too" as she recalled Wobbuffet back into his Poké ball. She then turned back to the other Rockets and said, "Alright, let's wait for the right time to strike. Are you two ready?"

James pumped his fist and replied, "I was born ready, Jess."

* * *

><p>The group had been walking for a couple of hours before Serena let out an exhausted moan. She pleaded to Ash and Bonnie, "Can we please stop here, guys? We've been walking for so long and my feet are getting sore."<p>

Clemont collapsed on the ground and said weakly, "I agree with Serena. We're making great progress, but we still have a full day of travel left to go. Let's rest here and get some lunch."

Bonnie looked back at her complaining companions and teased, "You guys are so slow. If it was just Ash and I, we would get to Lumiose by tonight." She stuck her tongue out at the two tired teens and tried to continue walking before Ash grabbed her arm.

Ash shook his head and said to Bonnie, "Actually, Bonnie, it might be a good idea to stop here. There's no use trying to rush, the gym isn't going anywhere. Let's get some lunch, what do you say?"

Bonnie stared at the young man and nodded, running back to her brother and Serena. She stopped in front of Clemont and asked, "So where would you like to set up, Clemont? I'm starving!"

"You just said that you could keep going."

Bonnie laughed, "I lied. I just didn't want my slow brother to go farther than I could."

Ash chuckled at the young girl and said, "Well Bonnie, there's a stream over there for us to sit by. That's a great place to take a lunch break."

He pointed at a small grassy knoll with a wide brook running around the base. Bonnie walked over to the waterfront and dipped her toes in the clear waters. Dedenne crawled out of her satchel and jumped into the river, splashing Bonnie with the cold water. Pikachu jumped down from Ash's shoulder and joined Dedenne in the water.

Clemont pulled out his canister, filled with supplies, and brought out his cooking utensils. He released Bunnelby, who dug a wide, shallow hole in the ground and took some branches and dry pine needles to make a fire pit. Serena figured that she could be of use and asked Fennekin to use Ember on the tinder. The pokémon breathed a ball of fiery cinders that ignited the kindling, creating a small fire that Clemont would use to heat up their food.

Ash unclipped his Poké balls and released Gible, Froakie, and Fletchling. The three pokémon looked expectantly at their trainer, who gave them all a smile and said, "Alright guys, lunch will be ready in a bit so don't get into any trouble." Ash then pointed to Serena and Fennekin and continued, "They're our new friends, Serena and Fennekin. Go and say hi!"

Gible was the first to greet the newcomers, in the only way that he knew how. Ash turned around to see Serena running around and screaming, with the land shark pokémon latched onto her head. He chuckled and said to Serena, "It looks like Gible likes you, Serena."

Serena pulled Gible off of her head and scowled at Ash, "Yeah, a little bit too much if you ask me. His affection hurts."

Bonnie giggled and added, "Don't worry, Serena. Gible did the same thing to me too. He's a funny, little pokémon."

Gible walked back over to Ash and gave a wide grin before making his way back to the other pokémon. Pikachu walked toward Fennekin and motioned her to join the rest of the group, and the fox pokémon shyly joined Ash and Clemont's pokémon. She was accepted quite easily by all of the pokémon, and they began to play a variety of games at the riverside.

Serena and Ash both sat down on the small hill overlooking the brook and playing pokémon. Serena felt that she could use this time to get closer to Ash and began to slowly scoot closer to him when he wasn't paying attention. To her surprise, he either didn't notice or didn't care and let her come close enough for them to almost be touching. Ash then laid back onto the ground and stared at the sky. Serena mimicked Ash, and laid down next to him. A flock of bird pokémon flew overhead, swimming in the vast ocean above the ground as a group of bulbous clouds lumbered their way across the sky. Ash tilted his head to look at Serena and asked, "It's a beautiful day out, don't you think?"

Serena met Ash's chocolate brown eyes and replied, "Yeah, it really is nice outside. It reminds me of when I was younger and I sat around all day watching the clouds go by. It's one of my favorite past times, even to this day."

Ash gave her a slight smile and said, "I know what you mean. Though I spent a good portion of my childhood training pokémon, I still remember all of the great times that I had as a kid. I still remember the time when my dad and I first went fishing together."

"What was it like?"

"I was only 5 years old at the time, but I remember it like it was yesterday. We went to a lake by Pallet Town and rode on his Lapras out to the center of the lake and cast our hooks. He and I just sat there waiting for a fish to bite, until his line started to tug. He pulled so hard, but lost his balance on Lapras and fell into the lake. Lapras and I looked around for him, until he jumped out of the water, riding the largest Seaking I have ever seen in my life. The Seaking threw him off of its back and swam away. My dad climbed back on Lapras, and we both broke out into laughter over what had just happened. At the end of the day, we had caught little more than a single Magikarp, who we threw back to be with its family. It was the last time I've ever seen my father, as he left the next day. I love my dad more than anything in the world, but I'm not even sure I'd recognize him now, after nearly a decade."

"I'm sorry Ash, I didn't mean to pry this information from you. I've never met my father, my mom said that he left when I was very young."

"What about friends, don't you have any back at home?"

"Not really. I really only was around my mom and her pokémon, and I never fit in with the other kids."

"Hey, at least you have Bonnie, Clemont, and I to be your friends now, Serena."

"Heh…yeah, friends." Serena whispered lamely. She looked down away from Ash.

"Something bothering you, Serena?"

She lifted her head back up and gave Ash a fake smile, "No, nothing at all."

Ash stared back at her, he could tell something was wrong in the way she spoke to him, but he couldn't put his finger on it. People were just so weird, he preferred pokémon. His thoughts were interrupted by Clemont announcing to everyone, "C'mon guys, lunch is ready." Ash jumped up and helped Serena up as well before they walked over to the picnic blanket that Clemont had placed on the ground. All of their pokémon also came over, and were each served their own pokémon food. Pikachu reached into Ash's pack and fished out a bottle of ketchup and tried to pour it onto his food. Unfortunately for Pikachu, the bottle sputtered and a meager amount of sauce showered on his food. Pikachu tried again, but with no luck. Ash gave a sympathetic look to the mouse pokémon and said, "Looks like we're out, buddy, sorry. I'll have to get some more in Lumiose."

"Pika pi." Pikachu responded drearily.

Ash patted the pokémon on his head and grabbed a bowl of stew for himself and sat down in between Bonnie and Serena. As they all ate, Serena turned to Clemont and asked, "Clemont, how did you learn to cook this well?"

"Well you see, Serena, my father was unable to come home some nights, as he controls the electric grid in all of Lumiose. I had to learn to cook for myself and Bonnie, though it took some time to do."

Bonnie began to laugh uncontrollably and said, in between gasps, "Yeah, he almost burned down the house a couple times!"

"Bonnie, it was only once, and that wasn't entirely my fault!" Clemont shouted in defense.

Ash and Serena chuckled at the fighting siblings. It seems there was always a way for Bonnie to embarrass her brother, as any younger brother or sister would.

While they tried to calm down Bonnie, the smell of food attracted a fair number of the wild pokémon in the forest. Clemont pulled out three more bowls and filled them with pokémon food. He set them down in front of the newcomers and said, "Don't worry everyone, there's enough for you guys too." More pokémon began to file out of the trees. Among them was a flock of Pidgey, a group of Rattata, a Pumpkaboo, and an Inkay. All of the trainers' pokémon finished their food and began to play with the wild pokémon, except for Dedenne, who scrambled back into Bonnie's satchel and quickly fell asleep. Ash and Serena went to hand-feed the pokémon as a voice boomed through the trees, shouting "Now!"

A number of devices fell down from the sky and caught Ash, Serena, and Clemont's pokémon in a large cage. As Ash turned to see what had happened, he was hit by a dual attack from the Inkay and Pumpkaboo behind him. He fell to the ground, writhing in pain. Serena rushed over to Ash and asked, "Are you alright?"

Ash struggled to get back to his feet and said, "I'm fine Serena, but I'm sure we better be prepared for trouble."

The voice boomed again, "Make that double."

Ash chuckled, "I knew it."

The iconic Meowth-shaped balloon loomed over the group and a claw reached out to grab the cages of pokémon. Jessie and James poked their heads out from the basket and continued their motto

"To protect the world from devastation."

"To unite all people within our nation."

"To denounce the evils of truth and love."

"To extend our reach to the stars above."

"It's Jesse…"

"And James."

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light."

"Surrender now or prepare to fight."

"Meowth, that's right."

"Wobbuffet!"

Ash clenched his teeth and shouted, "Why are you three always following me?" Serena turned to Ash and asked, "Who are these people Ash?"

"They're the ones who started the incident in Lumiose City a few days ago. They've been following me for years trying to steal my pokémon." Ash then reached for a Poké ball, but realized that all of his pokémon were now within Team Rocket's grasp. The other pokémon that had been around had now fled into the forest. He looked around to see what he could do, but realized that he had no offensive capabilities against Team Rocket. He was helpless against them right now.

James yelled once again, "Inkay, use Psybeam."

Ash turned around to see the revolving pokémon fire another beam of psychic energy at him. The attack hit him square in the chest and knocked him down once again. Serena felt a tear come to her eyes as she saw the young man clutching his chest on the ground. She turned around to watch Team Rocket slowly ascending with all of the pokémon in their custody. Fennekin stared back at her trainer and cried out in help. She knew that Team Rocket was too far away at this point for her to do something at the moment. It was all up to Clemont and Bonnie, who were staring wide-eyed at the thieves.

Bonnie yelled out at the Rockets, "You come back here!" before she felt her satchel start to wiggle. The front flap opened, and out popped a drowsy Dedenne. Dedenne looked up to see what was all the commotion, and spotted all of its friends caught in a cage under the Meowth-shaped, hot air balloon. Clemont saw the pokémon pop out of Bonnie's bag and gave his sister a grin as he said, "We still can do something. Dedenne, we need your help."

Dedenne gave his trainer a determined look and replied, "De de dene!"

He jumped out of Bonnie's satchel and arced electricity from his cheeks. The pokémon was ready to save his friends and help his trainer in their time of need. Clemont glanced at Ash and Serena and said, "Don't worry, Dedenne and I have this."

Team Rocket watched as the antenna pokémon prepared to fight, and Jessie laughed while taunting, "You think that small rat will stop us? You must be joking. Pumpkaboo, take it out with Shadow Ball."

The pumpkin pokémon charged and released a pulse of dark energy at Dedenne, who jumped out of the way of the attack and awaited an order from his trainer. Clemont pumped his fist and said to the Rockets, "I am the gym leader of the Lumiose City gym, and it's my goal in life to make the world a better place for people and pokémon alike. You three are trying to stop me from achieving my dreams, and as such I will do my best to defeat you." He then faced Dedenne and commanded, "Alright, give that Pumpkaboo your strongest Charge Beam."

Dedenne charged and released a ray of electricity at Pumpkaboo, knocking it back. The remaining electric power surged into Dedenne's body and was stored for the next attack.

James was next to attack, and ordered Inkay to use Psybeam again, only to have Dedenne dodge and retaliate with another, stronger Charge Beam. Clemont was using the move to increase the damage that Dedenne could do, bridging the gap of power between itself and its opponents. Jesse and James became aggravated and attempted to use both pokémon at the same time in a paired attack. The dual attack struck Dedenne and pushed it down the hill. Unfortunately for them, it only made Dedenne angrier, and Clemont directed it to use a Thundershock.

Dedenne released a powerful bolt of electricity at the two pokémon and launched them up in the air, towards Team Rocket. James gritted his teeth and shouted, "Inkay, use Tackle."

Inkay rushed at Dedenne and slammed into the smaller pokémon while preparing itself to attack again. Clemont knew that he had to rescue the groups' pokémon, and these crooks were stalling him in order to make a get away. He pondered for a moment and came up with an idea to stop Team Rocket. "Dedenne, when Inkay gets close, grab a hold of it."

Dedenne nodded and waited for the squid-shaped pokémon to attempt another Tackle. As Inkay barreled in for the attack, Dedenne jumped on top of his head and tugged hard. He quickly learned what Clemont wanted him to do and pulled on Inkay to "drive" him up to Team Rocket. As the pokémon came close to the hot air balloon, Pumpkaboo tried to slam into Dedenne, but Dedenne shocked her with a Thundershock and continued his advance towards the Team Rocket balloon.

Jesse ordered Pumpkaboo up to the basket, to protect Team Rocket from the mouse pokémon. This was to no avail as Dedenne rammed Inkay into Pumpkaboo, knocking Pumpkaboo into the basket at Jesse's feet. Dedenne then released a burst of electricity at the burner of the balloon. The burner began to fire excessively, and Dedenne saluted Team Rocket before pushing itself off of Inkay, falling down toward the ground. As he pushed off, the burner short-circuited and exploded, launching Team Rocket and their pokémon off into the air with a cry of "Team Rocket's blasting off again."

The cage full of pokémon was discharged from the balloon, and crashed on the ground in front of Ash, Clemont, Bonnie, and Serena. Bonnie ran forward to catch Dedenne and nuzzled the pokémon yelling, "You did great Dedenne, that was so awesome!"

"De de nene!"

Ash rushed to the cage and forced the door open to release all of the pokémon. Pikachu jumped up onto his shoulder and hugged his head, while the others swarmed around his feet. Fennekin leaped into Serena's arms, and Serena hugged the fox pokémon tight. Bunnelby and Clemont embraced and Bunnelby congratulated his trainer for such a good battle.

Serena walked up to Clemont and said, "Thank you for that Clemont, I don't know what we would have done without you and Dedenne."

Clemont scratched the back of his neck and replied, "You're welcome, Serena. I'm glad I could help get our pokémon back."

Ash laughed as he put his arm around Clemont and squeezed tight, "I knew I could count on you."

After the incident with Team Rocket, the rest of the day was a rather uneventful day of travel. They had walked until the sun had set, and pitched their camp in a clearing in the field. They ate their dinner and sat around the campfire. Clemont had brought out a blanket and draped it over him and Bonnie, so that they wouldn't be exposed to the cold night. Ash gave Serena one of his old sweatshirts to wear, which she gladly accepted. It had signs of repair, and Serena learned that it had been Ash's traveling gear while he was in the Hoenn region. It was torn and tattered in a battle with Team Rocket, but his mom spent time to sew it back together for him, and gave it to him to warm him on cold nights. Serena was touched that Ash would think about her before himself. He really was a kind person, one of the traits that she found most admirable in him. Since yesterday, her feelings for Ash had grown immensely, and she could barely control herself from scooting closer to him and wrapping her arms around his body.

They had shared stories and jokes around the campfire until the roaring fire transformed into a pile of glowing cinders. Instead of adding more firewood, the group decided to retire for the night and begin traveling early the next morning. Serena hadn't expected to spend a night out of the pokémon center, and didn't bring a tent to use in that case. Bonnie squealed in delight and shouted, "Then you can be with me in my tent. We'll sit around and talk about things that I can't say around Clemont or Ash."

Clemont smirked at his younger sister and asked, "Hmmm… Like what Bonnie?"

Bonnie was about to speak in her tired stupor but caught herself and said to her brother, "Nice try, but I won't tell you. There are things that only girls can talk about."

Clemont folded his arms, saying, "Alright, but you better get to bed early tonight. I wouldn't want to use my alarm clock again if you don't wake up in the morning."

Bonnie grew frightened and pleaded, "No, not the clock! I promise to go to bed early if you don't use the clock."

Clemont chuckled and said, "That's what I wanted. Serena how do you feel about sharing a tent with my sister?"

Serena smiled and replied, "I don't know about the whole 'girl talk', but I would love to sleep with some shelter over my head. I'm not really the rough and tumble mountain-woman type."

Ash watched as Bonnie, Clemont, and Serena entered their respective tents and sat by the dying fire with Pikachu. He looked at his lifelong partner and said, "I'm glad we have such great friends to travel with, aren't you buddy?"

"Pika pi."

Ash sat against a tree trunk and stared up into the sky. He thought about what the future would hold for him as he watched a small tuft of cloud pass in front of the full moon. Traveling with Serena seemed to bring a sense of excitement that Ash had never experienced since the start of his lifelong journey. Collecting gym badges and the like were routine for him now, but he never thought he would be so joyful about waking up the next day and seeing his friends, especially her. Why was she so special? Was it because he hadn't seen her for so long? That must be it, because she was such an important person in his life during that summer camp. Whatever the reason, Ash grabbed Pikachu and changed into a t-shirt and shorts inside his tent. He crawled into his sleeping bag and stared at his best friend curled up against him before drifting off into a deep sleep, dreaming about all of the experiences that he had with his childhood friend.

* * *

><p><strong>So how was it? I really needed to slow down a bit and add some real exposition, so why not here? It may not be the best chapter so far, even though Dedenne and Clemont destroyed Team Rocket, but that's because I have plenty of other exciting chapters coming up soon. As to the questions that will arise like "Will we see Ash or Serena's father in this story" the answer is maybe, but if I do add them into the story, it will be at a huge point in the story, and they will be around for more than one chapter. Once again, I'm sorry for the long wait for this chapter, but I'm sure you guys can understand. Thank you all for reading and please leave a comment, question, review, inquiry, critique, etc. and I'll see you all again for the next chapter, when I release it.<strong>


	5. Chapter 5: The City of Love and Pokemon

**Hello again guys, gals, and the rest of you who gender identify as a squid...or something. Anyway, here's another chapter (quite a long one at that). I wanted to release this one on Valentine's Day, but it went through extensive rewrites. I tried to make it fun and pleasing to the romantics out there, but don't expect this kind of super duper romance for every chapter (it was made special).**

**Getting that out of the way, here's Chapter 5: The City of Love and Pokemon**

* * *

><p>Ash crawled out of his tent slowly and placed his red hat on top of his head. Serena, Bonnie, and Clemont were all sitting around a small fire waiting for breakfast to finish cooking. Pikachu and Dedenne were sitting on a log together, exchanging electric jolts with each other. Serena was the first to see Ash emerge out of his tent and said, "Good morning, sleepyhead. How are you doing today?"<p>

Ash smiled and replied, "I'm doing well, just ready to get back to Lumiose. "

Bonnie interjected, "We have to stay in Lumiose for the night. Ash, you never got the chance to look around at all."

Ash chuckled at the young girl, "You're right, Bonnie, though last time I was in Lumiose I almost ruined Prism Tower. I don't know if the city can handle much more of me."

Bonnie laughed, "Yeah, we just have to stay away from Professor Sycamore's Garchomp and Team Rocket."

"Heh, It would be nice to see such a large city. Say Serena, you definitely know all the good stores and cafés in Lumiose right? Do you think that you could show me around the city?"

Serena gasped, "Me? I mean, I do know about all the great places to go in Lumiose, but wouldn't Clemont or Bonnie be better tour guides."

Clemont tapped his spoon against the pot that held their breakfast and said, "Actually Serena, I have no idea. I spend most of my time at the gym or at home."

Bonnie once again laughed, "Yeah, and I'm not old enough to go out on my own, silly. You're probably the best travel advisor."

Ash turned back to Serena, "Well, what do you say, Serena? Let's tear up Lumiose City."

Serena averted her gaze, attempting to hide the creeping blush on her face. _Just Ash and I alone in Lumiose, the city of love? Someone pinch me, I must be dreaming_. Serena shook the thoughts out of her head and replied, "Yeah, I'll be happy to show you around Lumiose, Ash."

Clemont pulled the pot away from the fire and filled bowls of food for all of them and said, "We can stay at my house. Our dad, Meyer, wouldn't mind at all." He handed the bowls out to everyone and sat down next to his sister. Ash, Serena, and Clemont released all of their pokémon and set down their plates with food as they all began to eat.

It didn't take them long to finish breakfast, and they quickly packed up camp and made their way to Lumiose. After a few hours they had reached the outskirts of the city. Between them and the gate into the city was a large garden with a fountain in the middle. A sign next to the group had an arrow pointing to the route with an inscription, Parterre Way. Ash stared in splendor at the garden, "Wow, I haven't ever seen this before."

Clemont pushed his glasses up on his face and said, "That's because we went through another gate to reach Santalune. Lumiose City meticulously keeps this garden, it's definitely one of this city's biggest prides."

Bonnie nodded her head and added, "Yeah! Lumiose City has always been called "The City of Love", and many couples will come from around the world to just spend an hour together in this garden."

Ash gave her an impressed smirk, "That's cool, and it's free to go through?"

Clemont nodded, "All free, Ash. That's one big plus."

"Well then, let's go, shall we?"

They walked down the hill and into the garden. Walls of pristine, cut hedges acted as a threshold into the garden, and, as they passed under it, they were sprayed with a light, cool mist that kept the plants quenched. The first object they saw when they passed under the hedge was the large fountain in the center of the garden. It was only here that Ash realized the sheer size of the fountain. A large, bronze statue of three Rhydon holding a massive bowl with Luvdisc jumping out sat atop a large basin, squirting streams of water up in the air. Multiple wooden benches sat on the perimeter, looking toward the fountain. These benches were each flanked by flower gardens, covered in tulips and roses. There were several couples scattered in the area. Some of them were admiring the gardens, hand in hand. Others were sitting on the benches, more interested in each other than the splendor around them.

Ash stood, mouth agape, and took in all the sights. "Wow, this place is so awesome," he said as he and Bonnie ran up to the edge of the fountain. He took off one of his sleeveless gloves and dipped his hand into the cold waters. Pikachu jumped off of his shoulder and dipped his face into the basin. He resurfaced and shook his head rapidly, spraying his partner and Bonnie with the refreshing water. Serena couldn't help but smile at the two. She was in the process of deciding what her and Ash could do in Lumiose, but had trouble with what would be the most interesting to Ash. Serena turned to Clemont and asked him, "So, Clemont, where do you think I should take Ash in Lumiose?"

"I knew that you would ask me that at some point, so I've created my own list of places you could go. I would start with a café and then walk around some of the tourist areas, like Centrico Plaza or Vernal Avenue. You could also look at the museum and get a freshly baked galette on the Northern Boulevard. Ash might also like to see the Poké Ball Boutique as well on Autumnal Avenue. He's not really a fickle person, so just cater to what you know he likes."

"You know a lot more about Lumiose than you said, huh?"

"Of course, I live there. I just wanted to give you and Ash some alone time, you know?"

"Well thanks, Clemont. I'm suspecting that Bonnie was also lying? "

"Obviously. She's been blabbing on about you two whenever you're not around. It's nice when she interferes in someone else's personal life for a change."

"I'll have to thank her too then. I'm just so nervous around Ash all the time. It's been such a long time since I've seen him, but he's just as I remember. I don't know how he sees me though. If he doesn't like me back, and I mess something up, it might ruin our entire friendship. What do you think?"

"He's definitely an oblivious one. Honestly, I don't think he even knows what he feels about you either."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"He has been travelling for years now with his pokémon, and he's never had a girlfriend when he's obviously been traveling with world class coordinators and gym leaders. I'd say you should just ease him into it with little acts here and there. That's pretty much all you can do about now, you just have to take those baby steps. If you need any help at all, Bonnie and I are happy to oblige."

"Thanks, Clemont. I didn't know you knew so much about this."

"Bonnie doesn't give me the credit I deserve. She thinks I'm so hopeless. In reality, I'm quite the opposite."

Clemont smiled at Serena and caught up with Bonnie and Ash, who were now looking at all of the flower arrangements. Bonnie leaned forward to smell one of the flowers but lost her balance and would have fallen face first into the flowers if Ash hadn't grabbed her arm. Serena giggled and began to amble toward her friends. As she walked, she noticed a couple sitting on a bench together. The man pulled out a bouquet of roses and handed it the woman. She blushed intensely and threw her arms around her boyfriend. Serena couldn't help but feel her gut twist and turn at the sight. She imagined her and Ash replacing the two and couldn't help but blush at the thought. _Imagine Ash making such a romantic gesture, I don't think I could control myself at that point._

* * *

><p><em>"Serena come on, we have to get there in fifteen minutes or we'll miss our reservation."<em>

_"Don't worry, I'm done."_

_Serena walked out of the bathroom into the sight of Ash and Pikachu, who were wearing matching black suits with blue ties. Ash had finally combed his hair for once, and relinquished his hat for the night. Though he had tried to neaten it up, his dark hair had different plans, and it started to restore its original shape. It didn't matter to Serena though, she thought that he looked handsome all the time, regardless of what he was wearing. She watched Ash's eyes grow wide as she waltzed in front of him and asked, "How do I look?"_

_Ash felt his cheeks heat up and shook his head to calm himself down before saying, "Wow Serena, you look absolutely beautiful."_

_"Pika."_

_Serena twirled, her light pink dress swirling around her body. She untied her hair and placed a pink bow on top of her head and gave Ash a slight smile, "Oh thank you Ash and Pikachu. Now c'mon, we don't want to be late for our reservations, do we?"_

_Ash extended his hand and intertwined his fingers with Serena's, and they walked together into the night…_

* * *

><p>As Serena daydreamed, she didn't notice Ash walking up to her. He snapped his fingers in front of her face, startling the girl. "What were you thinking about, Serena?" he asked.<p>

"Oh nothing, Ash. I was just thinking," Serena replied, instantly covering her face with her hands to hide from Ash's gaze. _Why is it always like this with him?_ _Pull yourself together, Serena, you're acting like a schoolgirl swooning over the most popular guy in the school. It's only Ash_. Serena looked up into Ash's chocolate brown eyes. _Yeah, but it's Ash_. She smiled at him and said, "Let's get moving shall we?"

Ash echoed her smile and replied, "Yeah, let's go. Clemont said that we can drop our stuff off at his house first."

Once they had made their way into Lumiose City, they were immediately greeted by the busy city. Clemont guided them to his house, right outside of Centrico Plaza. In front of the building, a taller, brown-haired man with a green hat and overalls worked on a red motorcycle alongside a yellow, bipedal pokémon with a large red orb on both its forehead and tail, an Ampharos. "Ampharos, can you give me some light here?" the man asked. Ampharos lit up the orb on his tail and moved to illuminate the spot on the motorcycle. The man pulled out a wrench and began to tighten a bolt, but stopped when he saw Bonnie and Clemont running toward him. He stood up and wiped the sweat off of his brow and the grease off of his hands, saying, "Clemont! Bonnie! It's great to see you."

Bonnie jumped into her father's arms and squeezed him tight as Clemont approached and sandwiched her between him and their father. The man saw Ash and Serena walking towards them and said, "You guys must be Clemont and Bonnie's friends? I'm their father, Meyer."

"Nice to meet you, sir. I'm Ash."

"And I'm Serena."

Meyer struggled out of the grip of Clemont and Bonnie and walked over to Ash and Serena. He wiped his hand on his overalls to make sure he was rid of the grease and shook their hands viciously. "You're both welcome to stay here for as long as you need. I'm glad that Clemont and Bonnie have finally found some great friends," he said as he grinned wildly. He then turned to Clemont and continued, "I heard from the guys that the gym is almost ready to be used again, even with that Garchomp attack a while- ago. They managed to get everything done in a real short time span, all things considering. Are you almost ready to get back to work?"

Clemont gave a nervous chuckle to his father. While he was excited about the gym being back up and running, he hadn't suspected how much fun it would be to continue his journey with Ash and Serena. No doubt Bonnie felt the same way. "Well, you see, Dad, Bonnie and I actually wanted to keep journeying with Ash and Serena."

"Clemont, it's your duty as the new gym leader to be there for challengers."

"I know, but I've really had some great times in the past few days, and I'm excited for what's in store for all of us. Surely you must understand?"

Meyer turned away from Clemont and Bonnie, a single tear running down his face. Clemont suspected he had outstretched a little too far and began to rapidly apologize to his father. To Clemont's surprise, Meyer turned back around and said, "I never thought that you would say that. How could I say no to you and Bonnie? This is so great! I'll take over the gym for you, and you can go and explore the world with your new friends." Meyer then walked over to Ash and wrapped his arm around him and Pikachu and asked, "I always like another man who uses an electric type, and a strong one like Pikachu at that. I hope you and your girlfriend will take care of Bonnie and Clemont for me along the way?"

Upon hearing Meyer say those words, Serena's face grew extremely red as she began to correct Meyer, but Ash beat her to the point. "No, it's not like that. Serena and I are just friends," he said, quite calmly.

Meyer attempted to ask why not, but was quickly nudged in the side by Bonnie. As far as he could tell, Ash didn't think much of his comment, but Serena seemed extremely flustered by it. Meyer decided to drop it and began speaking to Clemont again, "So where are your Heliolisk and Magneton, Clemont? If I'm gonna be the gym leader again, I have to have more than just Ampharos here."

"They're actually with Professor Sycamore right now, we can go get them if you'd like?"

"Of course I would. I'm the one who gave you that Helioptile egg. Come with us Bonnie?"

Bonnie eagerly looked at her family and said, "Yes! I want to see all the cool pokémon at Sycamore's lab again."

"Good. I'll let you kids drop off your stuff in the house and we'll get going to Sycamore's Lab. Ash and Serena, will you guys join us too?"

Serena shook her head, "No, I'm showing Ash and Pikachu around Lumiose. This is the first time they've been in the Kalos region."

Meyer nodded, "Well then, let's just meet back here for dinner then shall we?"

Once the group had dropped off their gear in the house, Clemont, Meyer, and Bonnie all headed off towards the pokémon lab, leaving Ash, Pikachu, and Serena alone. Serena pulled up a map of Lumiose City and shared it with Ash. "So where do you want to go first, Ash?"

"I'm kinda hungry right now, what do you say to getting some lunch?"

"Alright. I heard there's this new place called Lysandre Café over in Magenta Plaza, want to try that?"

"It's good with me, what do you say Pikachu?"

"Pika Pi!" the yellow mouse shouted with enthusiasm at the chance to eat some delicious food.

As they made their way around Prism Tower, Serena barely managed to keep herself together at the thought of being alone with Ash. _Oh boy, I can't believe it's just Ash and I getting lunch together. I don't care what he thinks, this is definitely a date in my book. I'm going on a date with As_h. Serena stared at Ash and began to daydream again.

* * *

><p><em>"Dinner was awesome Ash, you definitely chose well."<em>

_"What can I say? I aim to please."_

_Ash and Serena walked along the sidewalk, arms intertwined. The glow of the streetlights illuminated the path ahead. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and the brightest stars sparkled through the barrier that the city lights created. Serena felt a cold breeze run through her body, and began to shiver uncontrollably. Ash turned to her and unbuttoned his suit jacket, donning it onto Serena's shoulders. Serena looked up at Ash and blushed, saying, "Thank you Ash."_

_Ash smirked, "Hey, I don't want my lovely date to catch a cold. C'mon, there's one more thing I want to show you."_

_"What is it Ash?"_

_"It's a surprise."_

_Pikachu jumped off of Ash's shoulder and onto Serena's, rubbing up right against her neck. Serena used her free arm to pet Pikachu right under his chin and allowed herself to be led by Ash down the sidewalk. In Ash's coat, she felt warm and safe, and she gently tilted her head over to rest on Ash's shoulder. He gave her a large smile and they walked towards the Southern Boulevard._

* * *

><p>"Is this it, Serena?"<p>

Serena shook herself out of her daydream and focused her attention to where Ash was pointing. In front of them was a large crimson building with a sign that read Lysandre Café on it. Ash and Serena could see that the dining area inside was quite packed, but there were a couple open tables on the patio outside. Ash held the door open for Serena and entered the café. A shorter man with glasses and an apron came over to them and said, "Welcome to Lysandre Café, is it just the two of you today?"

Ash nodded, "Yes it is, would you mind giving us a table outside?"

"Not at all sir, please follow me."

They followed the man to a table outside, where he gave Ash and Serena their menus and a glass of water before leaving. Pikachu jumped off of Ash's shoulder and onto his lap, wedging himself between Ash and the table. Before long, Ash and Serena had placed their orders and were conversing when a tall, orange haired man walked up to their table. He was wearing a black suit with red trim and a furry collar. Around his neck was a blood red scarf accented by his orange beard. He had a slight smirk on his face, and his light blue eyes were fixed on Ash as he approached. The man bowed to the two and said, "Hello to both of you. My name is Lysandre. I'm the owner of this fine establishment."

* * *

><p>"So Clemont, Bonnie, you two have to tell me what's going on with Ash and Serena." Meyer said as the three walked along towards Sycamore's Lab.<p>

Clemont looked up at his father and replied, "It's kinda complicated, I'm not sure if I even know myself."

Bonnie gave her father a large grin and said, "I know! Serena really likes Ash. She's known him since they were my age. The only problem is, Ash doesn't know, and Serena will probably never tell him. That's what I'm here for!"

Meyer chuckled, "Bonnie, what did I say about interfering with someone else's personal life. I remember the time you invited 5 or 6 girls to the house so that Clemont could choose a girl that he liked."

Clemont stared angrily at his sister, "So it was you who did that! Why do you always have to meddle Bonnie?"

Bonnie giggled and averted her gaze, "I know I can make this work though. They're so perfect for each other, though. Clemont is even helping me?"

Meyer lifted one eyebrow out of curiosity, "Is this true, Clemont?"

Clemont pushed his glasses up and said, "Yeah it is. I guess I just like rooting for the underdogs."

"Underdogs?"

"Well, Ash has been traveling for 7 years with all sorts of people, and yet he never has had a girlfriend. I don't doubt Serena's feelings for him, but his feelings for her are an entirely different story. They've only been reunited for a few days, so we'll have to see how that develops."

Meyer smiled as his eyes began to well up with tears, "I'm shocked. I never thought that Clemont would have the ability to gossip about relationships, I'm so happy that you found some friends."

"Dad!"

* * *

><p>"Hi Lysandre. I'm Ash and this is my partner Pikachu."<p>

"Pika Pi."

"Serena's my name, nice to meet you."

Lysandre bowed once more and spoke, "I just like to check in on my customers to see how everything is treating you. So you're the famous Ash Ketchum aren't you?"

Serena gave Ash a confused look and asked, "Famous?"

Lysandre nodded, "Don't you ever watch the news or Pokémon Leagues? Ash and the news go hand in hand. The events on Shamouti Island years ago, Ash was there. There's the event in Greenfield, where Ash's mother was kidnapped by an Entei. There was even the Deoxys event in LaRousse City over in the Hoenn region. Don't forget the crisis at the Tree of Beginning. Guess who won the tournament at Cameran Palace, right next to the Tree, days before the crisis happened? I could keep going on, but I'm pretty sure I've made my point."

Ash rubbed the back of his neck, a tinge of pink appearing on his cheeks, "It seems I do get myself in trouble a lot, but I didn't think I was that well known."

Lysandre continued, "Well, I'm glad that you have such a fervor for protecting the beauty of this world. We are not so different in our goals, you and I. Oh, here's your food now. I'll make my leave, you two have a good lunch. Just don't go chasing rampaging Mega Garchomps anytime soon."

As Lysandre left, their waiter approached with a tray of food. Once he had set down the food for Ash, Serena, and Pikachu, he bowed and left as well. Serena had managed to take a few bites before her curiosity got the better of her. "Did you really do all that he said, Ash?" she asked.

Ash looked up from his food and replied, "That and more. Trouble likes to follow me around."

Serena gasped, "More? How much more have you done that I don't know about?"

"Quite a bit actually. I've made friends with so many pokémon that are regarded as legendary in their own right."

"Which ones?"

"Mewtwo, Mew, Celebi, Suicune, Latios, Latias, Rayquaza, Kyogre, Jirachi, Manaphy, Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, and so many more."

"All of those and more? A person would be lucky to see just one in their lifetime."

"I guess that makes me super lucky."

"Jeez, Ash. You really are amazing aren't you?" Wait, I shouldn't have said that.

"Huh?"

Serena blushed and laughed embarrassingly. It seemed that Ash didn't pay attention to what she said. In order to change the conversation topic, she asked, "So, Ash, what are your plans for defeating the Cyllage City gym leader?"

Ash took a bite of his meal and swallowed before saying, "Clemont said that he was a specialist in rock type pokémon, so I figured that I would use Froakie, Gible, or Pikachu."

"Why Pikachu? Isn't he weak against rock types?" Serena asked while Ash patted the mouse on the head.

"He and I have been through a lot, type difference doesn't matter much. We'll get through it, right buddy?"

"Pika," Pikachu said as he looked up from the piece of food that he was chewing on.

Serena smiled at Ash and Pikachu. Those two were together for so long and trusted each other's decisions. It was a bond that they forged through time together. Their bond interested Serena and she asked, "So, Ash, you never told me the whole story of how you and Pikachu first met. What happened that made you two such great partners?"

"It was definitely a rocky start. I was late waking up for getting my first pokémon and Professor Oak had none left, except for Pikachu. However, he didn't like me at all at first and shocked my mom and I."

Serena laughed, "Really? How could you Pikachu?"

Pikachu scratched his cheek in embarrassment. Ash patted the pokémon on his head and continued the story, "Well, anyway, I had to drag Pikachu for such a long way by a rope, until I tried to catch a Pidgey. I was so dumb, I tried to catch it with a blanket because Pikachu wouldn't fight and instead climbed up a tree."

Serena snickered, "I can't believe Pikachu wouldn't fight a Pidgey, but it would be funny to watch 10 year old Ash try to catch it."

"Ha ha, its hilarious. So anyway, I tried to catch what I thought was a Pidgey, but it was in fact a Spearow. Big mistake, because Spearow went right for Pikachu. Pikachu fought it off, with electric attacks, but it called its friends in for back up. Soon Pikachu and I were being chased by an entire flock of Spearows. I even had to dive into a waterfall to narrowly escape being pecked to death. This is where we met our friend Misty, who 'lent' us her bike."

"She 'lent' you her bike?"

"Well, we kinda stole it. That's not the point though. Let me continue my tale. At that point, it started to rain and the Spearow had caught up with us again. Spearow were attacking us constantly, and I finally crashed the bike after taking a huge jump. Pikachu was really injured already, and we were both thrown a couple feet away from the bike. I attempted to save him by placing his Poké ball in front of him, but he refused to leave me alone. He saved both of our lives with a single supercharged Thunder attack. Ever since then, we've been inseparable pals."

"Wow, that's really cool, but you didn't talk about the most important character in the story, the bike."

"Oh yeah, Pikachu fried it. Misty didn't get a new bike for years. Pikachu also fried May's bike when we met…and Dawn's as well…and shocked Iris and Bonnie the first time they met. "

"I'm lucky then aren't I?"

"Yeah, Pikachu seems to hate bikes and girls."

Pikachu frowned, it hated being made fun of and retaliated at Ash with a Thundershock. Serena began to laugh uncontrollably and almost fell out of her chair. Ash gave her a mock intense glare and teased, "Oh, you think seeing me in pain is funny do ya?"

Serena managed to control herself just enough to say, "Actually yeah. Thanks for the laughs Pikachu."

Ash and Serena continued laughing and talking, leaving the café after a few hours. Unfortunately, this meant that Serena's plan for the day was ruined, as they didn't have time to do half of the suggestions on her mental list. She instead turned to Ash and asked, "So Ash, what would you like to do now?"

Ash shrugged, "What is there to do? I'm not the Kalos native am I?"

"I bet that you'd like the Poké Ball Boutique on the Autumnal Avenue. They sell all sorts of awesome designer Poké balls there."

Ash smiled and started off running in the direction of the Autumnal Avenue. He turned around for enough time to say, "That sounds like fun actually. C'mon Serena, I'll race you there."

Serena yelled, "That's no fair! Wait for me, Ash," and began to run after the trainer from Kanto.

* * *

><p>Meyer, Bonnie, and Clemont walked into the Pokémon Lab to find Sycamore and an assistant chasing after a Chespin holding a box of cookies. "Chespin, c'mon. Those cookies are for everyone, not just you." The Chespin ran into Clemont's legs as he entered the lab. Chespin fell over and spilled cookies all over the floor. Clemont bent down and helped Chespin pick up the cookies off of the floor and place them in the box. He then picked up the box of cookies and handed them to a panting Sycamore. Sycamore heaved one last time and said, "Thanks Clemont. This Chespin sure likes to be a troublemaker all the time. There have been trainers that have traded out Chespin because he was unresponsive or made unnecessary trouble out of himself."<p>

Clemont looked down at the pokémon and said, "Why would people do that? I think he's a real cool pokémon, all pokémon are." He bent down and patted the Chespin on the head.

"Yeah, he really keeps us working around here, but he's got a heart of gold. Anyway, what brings you to my lab? It's probably to pick up your Heliolisk and Magneton right?"

"That's it. My dad has decided to take the Lumiose Gym from my hands while Bonnie and I are traveling the region."

"Are you really coming out of retirement, Meyer?"

Meyer smiled and replied, "Of course! Anything for my amazing kids."

Sycamore returned the smile and said, "That's splendid. Everyone should take the time to see all the great sights of the Kalos region. Are you still traveling with Ash?"

Clemont nodded, "Yeah we're traveling with Ash and a new trainer named Serena. They're out touring Lumiose City at the moment."

"Ah yes, Serena. I remember giving her a Fennekin some time ago. I don't want to keep you from them, so let's go get your pokémon."

"Sounds good Professor."

Sycamore picked up the Chespin at Clemont's feet and motioned them to follow him. Once they entered the preserve, Bonnie and Dedenne ran off to play with the various pokémon around. Heliolisk and Magneton saw their trainer coming and immediately ran up to greet him. Clemont patted them on their heads and said, "Hey guys, I hope that you've been good."

Both pokémon cooed in response.  
>"Great! Unfortunately I'm not gonna be back for a while, but Dad's here to take you guys home."<p>

They tried to protest but Clemont stopped them and continued, "You two are the gym pokémon, and you deserve to fight there. I'll be back soon I promise."

Sycamore set down Chespin and pulled out two Poké balls. He handed them to Meyer, who recalled Heliolisk and Magneton. Meyer pocketed the two balls and said to Clemont, "Why don't we let Bonnie have some fun? We have some time and I'd like to talk to the Professor anyway."

Clemont nodded and stopped Bonnie to tell her their plans. Bonnie yelled in joy and ran off to play with Dedenne. Clemont smiled and left the room with Meyer and Sycamore.

* * *

><p>"So this is the Poké ball boutique huh?"<p>

"Yeah! Pretty cool right, Ash?"

"I'll say."

The outside of the boutique seemed similar to the stores around it, but inside it was quite a different story. The floor was covered in a deep red carpet, embroidered with gold Poké ball symbols. There were cases filled with different Poké Ball designs, some that Ash didn't even recognize. "What do you think Pikachu? Do some of these make you want to stay in a Poké ball?" Ash joked. Pikachu shook his head violently, there was no way that he would be stuck in one of those things.

"Ash, come look at this one."

Ash turned around to see Serena staring at a huge case with two very fanciful Poké balls. Both of them were a crimson hue with two little sections cut out of the sides, concaving parts of the seam where the ball opened. These sections were completely black and made out of rubber, possibly for a better grip on the ball. Ash's eyes opened widely and he commented, "Wow, I've never seen any Poké ball like that in my life."

Serena nodded her head, "Mmhmm, that's a real cool ball."

An older man walked up behind Ash and Serena and said, "Yeah, those are some of the rarest Poké balls out there. They're called Cherish Balls."

"Cherish Balls?"

"Yeah. They're balls given out for special occasions or commemorations. In fact, my wife and I have a little contest that we're doing to give these two away."

Ash perked up at the chance to get the rare ball. "So you're the owner of this store then. How does one win the ball?" he asked.

"It's simple really. You have to beat us in a double battle."

"A double battle huh?"

"Yep. I believe that if two people have a bond with each other as strong as my wife and I do after 60 years of marriage, that's a commemoration in itself.

"Really?" Ash met Serena eye for eye and asked, "What do you think, Serena? Want to give it a try?"

Serena could see the fire in Ash's eyes. Any challenge was easy enough for him, but she didn't know about herself, "I don't know Ash, I haven't really battled at all yet."

Ash gave her a thumbs-up, "Don't worry, Serena. We'll win together, as a team."

Serena listened to Ash's sincere words, before giving him a determined look._ I never want to let down Ash. We can do it, no matter the odds_. "Alright, I'm in. Let's do this."

The old man smiled and clapped his hands, "Splendid. Margaret, we have some more challengers today."

The lady at the counter looked up and replied, "That's great. I'll be there in a sec, John, just let me finish this sale."

John nodded and motioned Ash and Serena to follow him out the back door. Behind the shop was a small grass field with battlefield lines painted on it in white. John placed himself on the opposite side of the arena from Ash and Serena, where he waited for his wife. After a couple minutes, Margaret appeared from the shop and took her place next to John. She eyed her competition and said, "Look at these cute little darlings. I'm ready whenever you three are."

Ash nodded and looked at Pikachu, "You ready for battle, buddy?"

Pikachu nodded and jumped off of Ash's shoulder onto the battlefield cheeks sparking.

Serena pulled out Fennekin's Poké ball and released the fox pokémon, who took a battle stance in front of her.

Margaret smirked and pulled out a Poké ball, yelling, "Okay Meganium, let's go."

Out of the ball, a tall sauropod-like pokémon appeared. It had a pale green body with long yellow antennae protruding from its head. Around its neck was a collar of pink flower petals with white ends. Serena pulled out her Pokédex, which said, "Meganium, the Herb Pokémon: The fragrance of Meganium's flower soothes and calms emotions. In battle Meganium gives off more of its becalming scent to blunt the foe's fighting spirit."

John was next to go, and pulled out his own Poké ball. "I need you, Typholsion."

As the white light dispersed from the Poké ball, it left a bipedal badger-like pokémon with a cream-colored belly and dark blue backside. It roared and flames shot from spots on the back of its neck. Serena pointed her Pokédex at the pokémon, and once more it spoke in a monotone, female voice, "Typhlosion, the Volcano Pokémon: Typhlosion obscures itself behind a shimmering heat haze that it creates using its intensely hot flames. Typhlosion creates blazing explosive blasts that burn everything to cinders."

Ash gave Serena a smile and said, "Looks like we have our work cut out for us, Serena. Are you ready?"

Serena looked at Ash. The pokémon they had to battle were really strong competitors, but she saw the faith that Ash placed in her. She nodded at Ash and the battle began.

"Let's start this off right, Pikachu. Use Quick Attack on Meganium."

Pikachu rocketed forward at the Herb Pokémon and slammed right into its side. Meganium stumbled from side to side, but remained on its feet and roared angrily.

"Typhlosion, give that Pikachu a Flamethrower attack."

Typhlosion roared as well and shot a blast of fire at Pikachu. Serena called for Fennekin to use Ember, and it collided with the attack and prevented it from hitting Pikachu.

"Meganium, use Razor Leaf."

From under its flower petals, Meganium launched sharp leaves at Pikachu and Fennekin. Pikachu had no trouble dodging the attack, but Fennekin had trouble moving out of the way of the incoming projectiles.

While they were busy with the Razor Leaf, John ordered Typhlosion to use Flame Wheel. The pokémon cloaked itself in fire and charged at Pikachu. Due to Pikachu's higher speed, it dodged the attack and retaliated with a Thunderbolt. Typhlosion took the full attack and fell to the ground in front of Ash. It got back up and roared as its flame collar flared up higher.

Ash smirked and said, "Looks like we're getting warmed up, eh Pikachu? Use Thunderbolt again, but at Meganium this time."

"Fennekin, help Pikachu and use Tackle on Meganium."

Meganium jumped out of the way of Pikachu's attack, but was punched in the gut by Fennekin. It was launched backwards onto the ground, where it struggled to get back up. Margaret clenched her fists and shouted, "Meganium use Sunny Day."

Ash and Serena felt the heat suddenly increase as Meganium amplified the sun's rays. Ash knew that he had a problem, considering Typhlosion's attacks were now stronger and Meganium wouldn't have to charge for Solarbeam. He knew that Pikachu's strength was in his speed, and called for Pikachu to use Agility. Pikachu shook his muscles to relax them and began to run at faster speeds toward his opponents.

Serena figure that she could help attack more and commanded, "Fennekin use Scratch on Typhlosion."

Fennekin shouted and ran up to Typhlosion. Unfortunately, her attack missed its mark, and Typhlosion rammed the Fox Pokémon with its head. Fennekin fell to the ground in a puff of dirt. She managed to get back up in time to see that Typhlosion had launched a Flamethrower at her. The attack landed cleanly, and Fennekin went soaring back. She was seriously in trouble now, and took a really long time to get back to her feet.

Serena clenched her teeth. She and Fennekin were completely outmatched by these two veteran pokémon. As she glanced at Ash, she didn't see any fear or apprehension in his face. Pikachu was still fresh, and they both looked like they were actually enjoying the battle. He definitely had some trick up his sleeve, but what was it? Serena called for Fennekin to use another Ember, and the pokémon shot a stream of cinders at Meganium again.

Meganium saw the oncoming attack and braced itself. The effects of Sunny Day powered up the move, but it wasn't enough to hurt the pokémon enough to take it out of the battle. Margaret called for Meganium to use Vine Whip, and it launched vines at both Pikachu and Fennekin. Pikachu used his tail to swat away the vines, but Fennekin was too weak to dodge them directly. She tried to use ember to burn the attack, but it was ineffective in stopping the advance. Fennekin was thrown about like a ragdoll, but once again stood back up.

Both Margaret and John could see that Fennekin could barely fight anymore and nodded to each other. They called for a tandem Solarbeam and Flamethrower attack. Ash attempted to stop Typhlosion by commanding Pikachu to use Thunderbolt, but was too late. Fennekin tried to avoid both attacks, but was caught and launched into the air. She landed in Serena's arms, completely unable to battle.

Serena recalled Fennekin and turned to Ash. Even though she was defeated, she could still see unquestioning resolve from him. He looked back at her and gave a thumbs-up before reversing his cap. "Don't worry, Serena. You and Fennekin had a great first battle. Now watch a master at work. Are you ready, Pikachu?"

"Pi Pikachu!" Pikachu cried out as his cheeks sparked with electricity. He knew that his opponents had both taken some serious damage, while he remained unscathed. Meganium and Typhlosion might think they had the advantage, but they couldn't be farther from the truth.

Ash pumped his fist and shouted, "Okay, Pikachu, use Quick Attack once more."

"Meganium, let's finish this. Use Solarbeam."

"Give Pikachu a Flamethrower, Typhlosion."

Ash knew that a powered up attack from Typhlosion could be devastating to Pikachu, but the same attack could do much more damage to Meganium if it was caught in the crossfire. As Pikachu neared Typhlosion, the two opposing pokémon launched their attacks. Pikachu dodged them with ease and zeroed in on Typhlosion's left leg.

"Pikachu, use Iron Tail."

Pikachu's tail glowed white as he smacked Typhlosion in the leg, wounding the pokémon and turning it to face Meganium. Once it figured out Pikachu's plan, it was already too late. The stream of fire snaked toward Meganium and hit it in the flank. Meganium was thrown off of its feet and landed on the ground, too exhausted to battle anymore.

John clenched his teeth to see his competitor brandishing a fearsome grin. He knew that Ash was in control of the battle, but he wouldn't give up without a fight. He bellowed to Typhlosion, "Give it everything you've got. Use Blast Burn."

Ash chuckled to himself. He knew that the attack would waste so much energy. It was better to fight a faster pokémon like Pikachu with small, speedy attacks. He commanded Pikachu to use Thunder on Typhlosion.

Typhlosion's flame collar burst high into the air as it launched a huge stream of fire at Pikachu. The wind up allowed Pikachu to swiftly roll out of the way, and he jumped high into the air. Pikachu charged a powerful electric attack and launched it at Typhlosion. The electrical energy engulfed Typhlosion in a massive explosion and launched it towards its trainer. Typhlosion tried to lift itself off the ground, but crumbled again under its own weight, too exhausted to stand.

Serena was amazed at how powerful of a battler Ash and Pikachu were. When he wasn't against top tier trainers or gym leaders, he was almost untouchable. _Why does he always find some way to impress me further every hour I'm with him?_ She ran up to Ash and said, "You and Pikachu were so awesome out there."

He smiled back and stated, "We couldn't have done any of it without your help though, Serena. We make a great team don't we?"

The elderly couple walked up to the two trainers as Margaret said, "You sure do. Both of you showed us the incredible bond that you have with each other and with your pokémon. Thank you for that amazing battle."

Ash nodded and said, "No thank you, it was really fun."

They all exchanged handshakes and John added, "Don't forget to pick up those Cherish Balls on your way out. You definitely deserved it."

As they left the Poké Ball Boutique with their new Cherish balls, the sun had already begun to set on the western horizon. Street lamps around the city had begun to flicker on and the cars in the street flipped on their headlights. It was too late for Ash and Serena to do anymore sightseeing, but this didn't bother them at all. The day turned out to be much better than Serena had planned, and she even got a memento for it. Serena eyed the metallic, red ball in her hand and said to Ash, "Today has been really awesome, hasn't it Ash?"

Ash returned with a huge smile and replied, "It sure has been. I'm just sad to see it come to a close already."

"Yeah, we should probably get back to Meyer's house then," Serena said. She placed the Cherish ball in her bag and stared down at the ground. A small blush began to form on her face as she said, "Ash…I really had a great time with you today."

Oblivious to her true meaning, Ash responded, "Yeah, me too. I'm real glad we could do this today. I wouldn't have had it any other way."

Serena felt her blush intensify after Ash spoke. She felt her hand inching its way towards Ash's, but she pulled it away before it made contact. _C'mon, Serena, cool it. Just like Clemont said: baby steps. Don't do anything that would jeopardize the friendship_. She barely managed to calm herself down as they walked down Autumnal Avenue towards Centrico Plaza and Meyer's house.

* * *

><p>"Thanks for the hospitality, Professor, but we really have to go."<p>

"I understand entirely. Thank you guys for coming."

Clemont and Meyer stood up and shook hands with Sycamore before retrieving Bonnie and Dedenne from the preserve. They all exchanged one more goodbye before heading out into the dying light, until they were stopped by Sycamore shouting, "Wait Chespin!"

Clemont, Bonnie, and Meyer turned around to see the Chespin from before come barreling out of the lab after them, with Sycamore right behind him. Chespin ran into Clemont's leg and embraced it firmly. Sycamore smiled at the pokémon and said, "It seems Chespin really likes you, Clemont."

Bonnie giggled and said, "I'll say."

Clemont bent down to rub Chespin's head. At that moment, a great idea donned upon him. "Professor, what if I were to take Chespin along with me during my travels?" he asked.

"Hmm. I don't see why not. We've been trying to find a great home for this little guy, but nobody will give him the love that he deserves."

Bonnie was the first to respond, "Don't worry, Professor. We'll take great care of him."

Chespin nodded his head and said, "Che Chespin!"

Clemont retrieved a Poké ball from his belt and held it in front of Chespin. "Here you go, Chespin. Just press the button." Chespin looked up at his new trainer and pushed the center button on the ball with vigor. The pokémon was sucked into the ball, which dinged as a signal of the capture. Clemont clipped the ball back onto his belt and said, "Thank you so much, Professor. I promise we'll give him the love he needs."

"I don't doubt it Clemont. Thank you for stopping by. Come see me again the next time you're in Lumiose."

"I will."

The family waved goodbye to Sycamore once more as they made their way back to the house, this time with a new friend.

* * *

><p><em>"What are you gonna show me, Ash?"<em>

_"I told you, it's a secret. I don't want you figuring out."_

_Serena and Ash walked along the Southern Boulevard until they came upon the Parterre Way gate. Serena joked, "Ash, you do know that I've seen the Parterre Way before, right?"_

_"Not like this though. Let's go."_

_They proceeded into the garden, where they sat on one of the benches facing the fountain. The light dribble of water from the fountain was the only sound breaking the silence before Serena asked, "So what is it that you wanted to show me?"_

_"Just wait."_

_They stared for a few minutes at the fountain before the entire garden began to light up. Serena watched as the lights began to form letters. She laughed until she read the message that the lights produced. It read, "Serena, will you marry me?" She looked to her left to ask Ash what was happening, but saw him on one knee with Pikachu holding a small box on his shoulder. In the box was a white gold ring with a brilliant, square diamond embedded on the top of the ring. She felt tears coming to her eyes as she asked, "Is this really happening?"_

_"Yes Serena. I loved you since the day I saw you. Please marry me."_

_"Yes! Yes! Of course!"_

_Serena pulled him up onto his feet and smiled as she saw the tears that were forming in his eyes as well. Ash pulled the ring out of the box and slipped it onto Serena's left ring finger. He dragged her close as their lips touched under the bright lights. She felt a rush of energy flow through her body as the man she had loved for so long had finally proposed to her. There was nothing in the world that could ruin this moment._

* * *

><p>"Hey, Earth to Serena."<p>

Serena snapped out of her daydream once more to see Ash waving his hands in front of her face. "What happened?" she asked.

"You zoned out again. You've been doing that a lot today for some reason. Are you alright?"

Serena sighed, "Yeah Ash. I've never been better."

"Alright. You make me worried sometimes, you know that? I fear that you might run into a wall or post or something."

"Hah, no I'm good. I was just thinking about something."

It took them until the sun fully set to reach Meyer's house in Centrico Plaza. They stopped at the front door to see Meyer, Clemont, and Bonnie walking down the street towards them. Bonnie ran up to them and asked, "How was your date…I mean day?"

As suspected, Ash was oblivious to her obvious slip up, "It was great Bonnie. Check out what Serena and I won at the Poké Ball Boutique."

Ash pulled out his Cherish ball and handed it to Bonnie. She smiled widely and said, "Wow, you really got one of these?"

"Two of them actually. Serena has one."

"That's so cool! How did you get them?"

"Let's just say we had an electrifying comeback during a double battle with the owners."

Bonnie giggled and said, "We got something too. Clemont was given a Chespin by Professor Sycamore."

Ash looked up at Clemont and asked, "Really?"

"She's right. He just wanted to join. Here, take a look."

Clemont pulled out Chespin's Poké ball and released the Spiny Nut Pokémon. Chespin exchanged greetings with Ash, Serena, and Pikachu as they all entered the house. The rest of the night was rather quiet for all of them as they ate dinner and talked about the events of the day. Serena even baked a batch of cookies for them all to enjoy as they talked and laughed merrily through the night. After a while, everyone prepared for bed and what would be a long journey to Cyllage City. Serena, Bonnie, and Dedenne stayed in Bonnie's room, sleeping in the same bed together, while Ash, Pikachu, and Clemont stayed in Clemont's room. Clemont gave Ash the bed, considering he was a guest, and pulled a sleeping bag up next to it.

Ash could hear Bonnie and Serena giggling through the walls as he turned over in his bed to see Clemont sitting at a desk, tinkering with one of his inventions. "Clemont, why aren't you in bed?"

"I couldn't sleep. I don't feel right about making my Dad come out of retirement to run the gym again."

"It'll be fine, Clemont. I actually wanted to talk to you about that."

"Oh? What about it?"

"Clemont, when we come back to Lumiose again I want a battle with the real gym leader of Lumiose City. I don't want to battle Meyer or some invention, I want to battle you."

Clemont smiled, "Hmm. Then it's a promise, but don't think that I'll go easy on you because you're my friend."

Ash chuckled, "I wouldn't want it any other way. Thanks Clemont."

They exchanged a friendly handshake before Ash pulled the blankets over his head. He slowly shut his eyelids and gently fell asleep to the sounds of ticking ratchets, giggling girls, and the soft breathing of his partner Pikachu next to him.

* * *

><p><strong>Oh jeez, not the sappy romance. Anything but the sappy romance! This was definitely a fun one to write, and I hope it was a fun one to read. Thank you all for reading and I'll see you in my next chapter.<strong>


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